Let’s be honest: the electorate punished Trump for what he didn’t do (control the virus), not for what he did (consistently violate constitutional norms). GOP voters completely shrugged off the man on golf cart’s outrages. His reactionary base even appeared to approve of them, as they were proof of his disdain for the “deep state.”
What does this mean? It means the next GOP presidential candidate, whether it be Trump or someone else, is likely to promise more of the same. As a result, there is no point in Biden showing restraint when it comes to the scope of executive action. He won’t get any credit for it from the right.
I’m not advocating for actions that are clearly illegal. Neither am I suggesting that Biden should do anything gratuitous to throw gas on the culture war fire. What I am saying here is that Biden should take the most reasonably expansive view of the scope of his powers in instances where he can make a significant difference in the lives of the American people, because, in the real world, there is no down side to doing so.