Liberal historian Doris Kearns Goodwin said Thursday that the Democratic taking of power in the House of Representatives represented "joy in politics" returning to Washington.
She added in an MSNBC appearance that she had a "little bit better feeling about things right now" as Nancy Pelosi became poised to become Speaker of the House for the first time since 2011. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) nominated her for the position in an energetic speech that reached Goodwin on a personal level.
"You know, it struck me in Representative Jeffries' nomination of Speaker Pelosi, when he talked about what a joy it was for him to nominate her, we've had so little joy in politics in these last months," she said. "There seems, to me, so little joy in President Trump as a person, except when he's fighting against something."
"To see families together at this moment, to see the joy of new people thinking that maybe things will be different, that maybe something will change and this fever will break, we just have to celebrate that moment ... Let us just take this moment and feel good about it and know that maybe things will get tough again tomorrow, but I just have a little bit better feeling about things right now as of this moment," she added.
Democrats have promised to exercise rigorous oversight and pursue multiple investigations against the White House.
Goodwin has hit the theme of "joy" in her analysis before. Last month, she imagined a scenario where Trump resigned because the "top guy doesn't have any joy."
"I think at some point he might resign," she said. "If this thing gets so bad and it's coming right in on him and he can figure out some honorable way that he’s doing something good by leaving, he’ll figure it out some honorable way."
Goodwin, a prolific author, worked in the Lyndon B. Johnson administration and counts President Barack Obama as a personal friend.