A view of the South side of the White House, five days after the 2020 election: Glynn Wilson

By Glynn Wilson –

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As we broke camp on Sunday feeling victorious about the declaration of Joe Biden as president-elect and drove south on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway into the city, my mind began to wander back to the biggest story of them all, the raging coronavirus.

While the Trump administration’s total failure to get the virus under control in the United States was a big reason why more than 74 million voters chose a Democrat to run the country for the next four years, news of the rising number of cases and deaths sort of took a back seat for the past few weeks to the election itself.

It’s now time to turn our thoughts and efforts back to suppressing the spread of this novel coronavirus. As of Tuesday morning, more than 10.1 people in the United States have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 238,700 have died, according to the New York Times database. At least 745 new coronavirus deaths and 130,553 new cases were reported in the U.S. on Monday, Nov. 9, the day I drove back to North Carolina to spend the winter in a writer’s cabin in the mountains — far from other people and hopefully safe from the virus.

Over the past week, there has been an average of 116,448 cases reported per day, an increase of 64 percent from the average two weeks earlier. There is no end in sight for this since Trump fans continue to refuse to wear masks in public.

Biden announced the formation of a team of experts to begin to come up with a plan to combat the spread of the virus once he is sworn in on January 20, 2021.

Meanwhile Trump played golf again, which appears to be what he plans to do for the remainder of his presidency. He fired his Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, by Twitter tweet, maybe on the 18th tee at his golf course in Virginia, and bullied Attorney General William Barr into weighing in on investigating “election irregularities.” This is not going anywhere. Barr and the other officials appointed by Trump should be sending out their resumes. They will be out of a job soon.

Even some Republicans who supported Trump are being quoted as saying it’s time for Trump to concede for the good of the country, which of course is not something that interests this lame duck president. As he has proved all along, he only cares about himself.

Electoral College Update

Meanwhile since we last reported the numbers, the Associated Press and the New York Times added Nevada to the Electoral College map, bringing the official vote count to 279 for Biden and 214 for Trump with 45 still outstanding, although Arizona will no doubt go to Biden and Georgia will too, after a recount. We still don’t have an official announcement from North Carolina, where Trump holds a slight lead with 98 percent reporting. But when all the mail-in votes are counted in Charlotte and other urban and suburban areas, there is a chance Biden could take the Tar Heel State too in the end.

The Mood in DC

In spite of the raging coronavirus, I couldn’t resist an opportunity to hang out down by the White House for a little while on Sunday to gauge the mood of the people. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day in the 70s and the tourists were out in numbers, mostly wearing masks and remaining 6 feet apart.

I walked by the Trump Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, and the sidewalks were conspicuously absent of Trump supporters taking selfies.

The Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C.: Glynn Wilson

Some people drove by the White House blowing their horns and flying American flags and Biden-Harris signs. In McPherson Square Park and Black Lives Matter Plaza, there were no protests on this day, only skate boarders making their jumps and a few homeless people lounging in the grass and in shady patches along the sidewalks. The mood was low key and relaxed and people seemed to be breathing a collective sigh of relief, now that there is light at the end of the tunnel and hope that this hyper crazy Trump era is coming to an end. Even the DC Metro Police and the Secret Service seemed relaxed for a change.

The new, tall white security walls surrounding the White House made it hard to see the building in places, and tourists — many from other countries — had a hard time trying to find a spot take take pictures and selfies. Many found a place on the south side of the building over by the Washington Monument.

A view of the South side of the White House, five days after the 2020 election: Glynn Wilson

The National Mall was busy with bikers, people riding scooters and simply walking around looking at the monuments and memorials.

A view of the Washington Monument on the National Mall, five days after the election of 2020: Glynn Wilson

Feeling like my time was running out since I wanted to try to make it to Shenandoah National Park by sunset, as I walked around the White House on the east side, I couldn’t resist the temptation to duck into one of Washington’s great bars, Old Ebbitt Grill, for a Bloody Mary and Sunday brunch. I almost went for the Oysters Rockefeller, but thought better of it and ordered the Sausage, Egg and Cheese sandwich, with papa weaver breakfast sausage, Jasper Hill Farm cheese and two over medium eggs on a brioche bun. Totally delicious.

The windows of the bar were still boarded up in case of protests, and due to the coronavirus, everyone wore masks and they had plexiglass screens setup at the bar between every other stool. No bar tender served from in front of you behind the bar. A server took care of customers from the side, another safety precaution. They cleaned incessantly, even in the marble bathrooms in between customers.

Still, I didn’t hang around long inside. I wolfed down the sandwich, served with potatoes, and snuck out with most of the Bloody Mary in a go coffee cup I had with me. I sipped it while walking back to the van parked just off of Pennsylvania Avenue at Seventh Street. I drove east on Constitution Ave. and crossed the Potomac River over the Francis Case Memorial Bridge into Virginia, and hauled ass toward the Big Meadows Campground in Shenandoah National Park.

We didn’t quite make it to the campground by sunset, but it was a spiritual experience. It will take another column to explain what happened there.

Meanwhile Trump can make all the noise he wants, but he’s a lame duck now. Will he disappear to Mar-A-Lago for Christmas and never return? Stay tuned.