Virginie Girod SEASON 2023 – 2024 05:00, November 3, 2023
By refusing to recognize his defeat at the polls during the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump is flouting centuries of American political tradition. How should the American president return power, and how should he withdraw from political life? A little trip to the heart of History is essential! Virginie Girod talks with Yves-Marie Péréon, historian and university professor at Paris-Panthéon Assas to help you discover this little-known aspect of politics across the Atlantic.
The figure of the American president is inseparable from the first of them, George Washington. Hero of the War of Independence, he occupied the White House for two terms, from 1789 to 1797. “He was the first to define and test the costume that had been cut to his size, transforming himself from commander to chief of an army, head of an executive power, with administrative action for which he proved to be very competent” explains Yves-Marie Péréon. But it was also in his manner of leaving power that Washington struck his contemporaries: despite his popularity, he chose not to run for a third term and to withdraw from political life. “He therefore established a precedent that his successors up to Franklin Roosevelt then followed” explains Yves-Marie Péréon, even though the American Constitution does not set a term limit. It was not until 1951 and the Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution that a two-term limit was actually enshrined in law, after Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected four times to the White House.
If the latter died during his functions in 1945, the withdrawal of his predecessors gave birth to the figure of the “former president”, whose uses were also codified with those who embodied him. Unlike France or Italy, once unemployed, the former American president does not inherit any official responsibilities. “So little by little, a sort of jurisprudence developed” recalls Yves-Marie Péréon. Tradition dictates that the former president continues to follow the example of George Washington by delivering a farewell speech, or by attending the inauguration ceremony of his successor, whom he must refrain from criticizing. Since the 19th century, he has also been expected to write his memoirs. “They often have an apologetic goal, they defend a heritage” adds Yves-Marie Péréon. He himself took up the pen to write Restoring power, the American presidents after the White House. From Washington to Trump, published by Tallandier. According to the historian, by completely refusing to conform to this role of former president, Donald Trump is thus contesting the legitimacy of his successor and shaking up the foundations of American institutions.
“At the heart of history” is a Europe 1 Studio podcast.
– Presentation: Virginie Girod
– Production: Camille Bichler and Nathan Laporte
– Director: Pierre Cazalot
– Composition of the original music: Julien Tharaud
– Writing and Distribution: Nathan Laporte
– Communication : Kelly Decroix
– Visual: Sidonie Mangin
Guest(s): Yves-Marie Péréon
2023-11-03 04:00:00
#American #presidents #leave #office
