As Trump climbed the stairs to board the presidential plane for the last time yesterday morning – before the inauguration of Joe Biden and after he had pardoned Steve Bannon – a word swirled in my mind: Why?

Why did he need to do all those things for four years? Why could he not recognize the result of the elections, so that the desecration of the Capitol could have been prevented? Why didn’t he attend the inauguration of the new president, according to the political tradition and culture of this country?

Why?

What a pity for him, but look at how much damage he did to the country.

Now he is gone. One chapter closes and another begins.

There are already many signs of a return to normalcy.

It was such a big change and so human to see Biden tearing as he left his home state of Delaware, talking about his dead son Beau.

What he did after the inauguration was so proper – it was imperative – and such a shame that it had not been done before: to honor the memories at the Lincoln Memorial of the 400,000 Americans who died of the coronavirus.

It was right for Biden to start the day of his inauguration at the church where John F. Kennedy’s funeral took place, along with leaders of both parties in Congress. (Did Trump go to church at all during the years of his presidency?)

It gave us a feeling of validation of the character of the country that the new President – on the same day he took office – stopped the construction of the wall on the border with Mexico, canceled the ban on visitors from certain Muslim countries, and re-entered the Paris Agreement on climate change and the World Health Organization.

Let no one take these actions for granted. They are important. They symbolize a break with the recent past, when not only did they not honor, but denied the dead.

They symbolize a return to the essence of the virtuous government of the country.

They symbolize her return to the world.

Of course, this inauguration was very different from previous ones.

The capital was turned into a fortress with the presence of 25,000 members of the national guard and relatively few guests, including Vice President Pence and all the surviving Presidents except Carter, who was unable to attend due to advanced age.

But it did not lack brilliance – because hope was present. And emotion. And pride. The country was tested, sorely tested – but it endured, with the promise that it will never take democracy for granted again.

And now we look to the future with hope.

The hope that the new President will finally restore ethics in public life. Humanitarianism. Culture.

He will deal with the problems of the country. He will govern with a plan, with ability. With a sense of responsibility.

It was a day of joy. Relief. Emotion. And above all, hope.