Photo: Courtesy of HBO
By the timeJoe Bidenassumed the office of president, “unprecedented” was an adjective the world had grown tired of hearing. But peering behind the curtain in HBO’s upcoming documentaryYear One: A Political Odyssey, Americans are reminded that Biden’s ascent to the White House can’t be described any other way.
In January of 2021, the nation stood in shock watching a sea of angry Trump supportersstorm the U.S. Capitolin an attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election, in whichBiden overwhelmingly defeated the sitting president. Already enmeshed in a global pandemic and watching international tensions rise, the Jan. 6 insurrection set the stage for Biden to be sworn in amid domestic unrest and sounded security alarms come Inauguration Day.
“There was huge security issues that day — fears after Jan. 6 and a lot of steps and precautions that were being taken,” former White House press secretaryJen Psakisays in an exclusive clip ofYear One, shown below. “We couldn’t even get close enough to drive here on our first day.”
Thepandemic-restricted inauguration, where participants wore masks and Trump was nowhere to be found, was an odd way to begin the presidency, but then Biden and his team faced the real challenge: simultaneously getting COVID-19 under control and healing a broken nation.
Year Onefollows the inner circle of Biden’s administration from the inauguration tohis first State of the Union addressin March of 2022. It shows the herculean effort to get Americans vaccinated, the lead-up toU.S. withdrawal from Afghanistanand the escalation of nuclear tensions around the globe.
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Year One: A Political Odysseypremieres Wednesday, Oct. 19, on HBO and will be available for streaming on HBO Max.
Courtesy of HBO
source: people.com
