Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. has been President of the United States for a year. For most of those 365 days, Biden had the goodwill of a majority of the American people. Unlike former President Trump, Biden took his oath of office seriously and mobilized the resources of the federal government to try to get people vaccinated against COVID-19 and put money in people's pockets by spearheading a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.
But Biden's popularity began to erode in August with a chaotic withdrawal of American troops in Afghanistan which was quickly followed by the Taliban returning to power. Mind you, it was former President Trump who saw fit to negotiate with the Taliban rather than Afghanistan's democratically elected government. Nevertheless, even though many Americans wanted out of Afghanistan the chaos which followed happened under Biden's watch.
Over time, more voters began to lose confidence in Biden's approach to COVID with the inability to contain the Delta variant and now being overwhelmed by Omicron. When Trump left office there were more than 24 million cases of COVID recorded and slightly over 400,000 deaths. We are now nearing 70 million cases with more than 15 million cases being added this month alone and counting. COVID deaths have also now more than doubled although mind you there were nearly 100,000 COVID deaths during his first 33 days in office and deaths have slowed considerably since. Still, it doesn't change the fact people are still getting sick and are dying.
Yet the fact also remains that a third of Americans refuse to get vaccinated and it isn't that Biden hasn't tried. Just under 64% of the eligible U.S. population has been fully vaccinated which puts us slightly ahead of Sri Lanka and slightly behind Iran. Where would the United States be if 75% of our eligible population was fully vaccinated? But if that third of the country could be summed up it could be summed up in this political cartoon where a Trump supporter confronts Biden and demands, "I won't wear a mask and I won't get vaccinated! And why haven't you ended the pandemic?" Biden is in a no win situation.
Case in point. The passage of the $1.9 trillion infrastructure bill despite opposition from so-called progressives like AOC. It's the biggest infrastructure bill in half a century, but this achievement is overshadowed by the failure to pass Build Back Better with Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema aligning with the GOP as well as voting rights legislation no thanks to the two alleged Democratic Senators.
Speaking of voting, did I mention that 75% of Republicans believe Donald Trump won the 2020 election? The best Trump can do is to claim that he won because his rallies were larger than Biden's. Well, Biden didn't want his supporters dying of COVID unlike Herman Cain. Yet Trump supporters believe every word he says (unless it's about taking vaccines).
Herein lies the problem. Biden is a serious person acting in good faith who is surrounded by unserious people acting in bad faith be it most Republicans, The Squad and Senators Manchin and Sinema. It is because Biden takes his job seriously and is trying to end a pandemic while improving the lives of as many Americans as possible that he has my support even if I might not agree with everything he says or does. But Biden is willing to put in the work. The GOP, The Squad nor Senators Manchin and Sinema have an alternative because they are unserious people.
Nevertheless the sad truth is that Biden has scarcely seen a positive poll since September. So long as his approval/disapproval gap remains in the double digits by this time a year from now his party will not have a majority in either House of Congress putting his agenda further out of reach. In which case, a primary challenge is likely to loom from The Left or even from Hillary Clinton. Should this come to pass would Biden fight off Hillary like Jimmy Carter withstood Ted Kennedy or will he fold like LBJ? Either scenario would only stand to benefit Donald Trump.
Yet I am not prepared to write off Joe Biden. This happened during the 2020 campaign and, well, who now calls the White House home? COVID will eventually recede as could inflation while people forget about Afghanistan. Should this come to pass come then by 2024 Americans might find the alternatives in the Democratic Party less than desirable let alone the prospect of Trump as a President for another four years and, if he has his way, President for Life. Even if he is not beloved, most people are comfortable with Biden as President of the United States. Unlike Trump, Biden won't overstay his welcome. For now, Joe Biden is staying right where he is. With another three years in office, Joe Biden is biding his time.
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