There is currently one President of the United States, and his name is Barack Hussein Obama. He is the one and only person serving as commander-in-chief at this time.
Donald Trump is president-elect. Also known as: not the president yet.
When the media calls the election at 2 a.m. — or whatever the time may be — the newly elected president doesn’t pack up his bags and jump on the first flight to the White House.
As taught by most high school civic classes, the 20th amendment prevents that from happening. It states that the current president’s term ends at noon on January 20th. Then, the president-elect will be inaugurated.
Trump has some months to wait until he jumps on his luxurious private plane and heads to Washington, D.C. Why? Because he’s not the president. And really, he may never pack up, because according to the The New York Times, Trump has already shown interest in limiting his physical time in the White House. He’s considered staying at his extravagant Trump Tower penthouse many nights while serving as president.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump convinced the American people to let Vice President-elect Mike Pence occupy his White House living space instead of him.
So, for those people glorifying or drowning in their tears that “we have a new president,” hold off for a little bit because it’s not over yet.
President Obama is still our president. So stop trying to run this great man of a president out of office. He has over two months left.
We need to take in these last couple of months with every breath we have. It’s the last time the White House will see such elegance, class and grace — at least for the next four years.
It’s also the last time it will see a president fight and care for a better county for all people, and not just the Americans that look like him.
And the last time we see of a president that attempts to find good in all people, even his bigot of a successor.
We can’t forget about Joe Biden either — we absolutely can’t rush him out. Even in the worst times, Biden has the ability to turn everyone’s frown upside down. Biden and Obama are a dynamic duo composed of humor, morals, intelligence and class.
At the end of the day, it isn’t just about missing Obama and Biden. America needs this time to cope with what’s about to happen and to sit down to understand what we’re really about to go through.
Or, should I say, sit down and guess what’s about to happen, since our president-elect is already backing from his campaign promises about Obamacare and same-sex marriage and throwing in new ideas like cancelling billions of dollars to climate change programs within the United Nations.
Let’s use this time to not only cherish the time we have left, but to digest what’s to come.
Two more months, people. Two more months.
Clarke Perkins is a 20-year-old political science sophomore from New Orleans, Louisiana.