Washington
- On this day, two years ago, President Joe Biden took over the reins of power in Washington, coming from the corridors of half a century of political practice in the heart of Washington, D.C., to become the 46th president of the United States.
In his inauguration speech, Biden pledged to be "a president for all Americans," adding, "I promise I will fight for those who did not support me as hard as I fight for those who did."
Biden's presidency had begun in stormy and exceptional circumstances, as it came two weeks after thousands of former President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to obstruct the certification of election results, and Trump himself refused to acknowledge losing the election.
However, what Biden said was not achieved, as America continues to be divided, with the widening circle of differences between Democrats and Republicans.
After two years in power, only 43% of Americans agree with Biden's way of managing the country's affairs, at a time when the president has begun to face a new reality in Washington, with the majority of the House of Representatives moving to the Republicans.
In its analysis of Biden's record in governance during the past two years, Al Jazeera Net monitored 6 major successes for Biden, compared to 4 failures.
First.
Successes:
America's Rescue Plan for "Covid-19"
One of Biden's first acts as president was to try to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control by passing the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
The White House sent low- and middle-income Americans payments of $ 1,400 per month, and Biden extended federal unemployment benefits of $ 300 per week to about 9.7 million unemployed people, temporarily expanded the child tax credit program, and allocated $ 7.25 billion in small business loans and $ 128 billion. dollars in grants to state educational agencies.
Biden has pushed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to produce, distribute, trace and make available COVID-19 vaccines for free across the country.
Infrastructure bill
Biden signed a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill into law in November 2021, which would repair the country's roads, bridges, railways, airports, and electric vehicles, and the law includes providing $ 284 billion for these needs.
$65 billion has been allocated for fast internet in rural and remote communities, $73 billion for renewable energy infrastructure, and $55 billion for clean drinking water.
Firearms Safety Act
In the aftermath of the mass shootings at a Uvalde, Texas, school and a Buffalo, New York, store that occurred in the same week, killing 19 children and 12 adults;
Biden signed the largest gun safety bill Congress has passed in nearly 30 years.
Despite its historical significance, the bill was somewhat limited compared to what gun control advocates would have wanted.
Before he signed the bill into law in June 2021, Biden said that while the measure didn't accomplish everything he had hoped for, bipartisan legislation would ultimately save lives.
Manufacturing semiconductors in America through the "CHIPS" law
The CHIPS Act was passed in August 2022, allocating nearly $53 billion in federal funding to manufacturing semiconductor chips in the United States rather than relying on China, Korea, Taiwan, or others to produce them.
According to the White House, the bill "will advance US semiconductor research, development, and production, ensuring US leadership in the technology that underlies everything from automobiles to home appliances to defense systems."
Inflation Reduction Act
Biden successfully passed the Build Back Better Act, a massive social spending bill amounting to nearly $2 trillion.
They included many of Biden's 2020 campaign promises, such as major health care reform, universal pre-kindergarten and paid family leave, and $550 billion to combat climate change funded in part by higher taxes on corporations and the rich.
That original piece was stalled in Congress, but after months of negotiation, it has re-emerged under a different name, the Inflation Reduction Act.
It took nearly a year for the law to pass when Vice President Kamala Harris' vote was decided in the Senate, while it received the approval of the House of Representatives by 220 votes to 207 votes, without any Republican voting for it.
Leading two international coalitions against Russia and China
Biden succeeded in leading NATO and forming a united western front against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Biden led efforts to impose international sanctions on Russia, and succeeded in providing Ukraine with more than $ 50 billion in military and economic aid.
Biden also succeeded in pushing Western countries to increase their military support and training of Ukrainian forces, and Biden clearly assured Russia that any attack on any inch of NATO territory would constitute a direct attack on the United States.
On the other side of the world, Biden led the establishment of the Ocos Triple Alliance with Britain and Australia, and it was agreed that Australia would be given nuclear-powered submarines to curb China's expansionist ambitions in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Biden also led efforts to establish a quadruple alliance with Japan, India and Australia for the same purpose.
At the same time, Biden sent several stern warnings to China, warning it of the consequences of invading Taiwan.
Biden failed in several files, most notably the economic aspect (Reuters)
Second.
Biden's failures:
Inflation soared to record levels
The economic situation in general deteriorated during the two years of Biden's rule, and inflation rates reached record levels, the largest in the past 40 years, and this was followed by a rise in prices, especially food and car fuel.
The decline in stock market indices also affected the retirement accounts of millions of Americans, and there is fear of continued deterioration of economic conditions and the onset of a recession, especially after the US Central Bank raised the short-term borrowing rate by 0.75% over 4 times last year.
Chaos withdrawal from Afghanistan
After 20 years of its occupation, the "chaotic" US withdrawal from Afghanistan led to a significant decline in Biden's popularity and America's global image, and left negative effects on its credibility among its military allies.
And the chaos of the withdrawal caused the killing of 13 American soldiers who were carrying out guard duties at Kabul airport.
It is also believed that the Biden administration left the Afghan army hostage in the hands of the Taliban, which allowed it to control it and its US military equipment.
Republicans accuse Biden of being responsible for the decline in women's rights in Afghanistan.
The deterioration of the southern border crisis with Mexico
President Biden is accused of rushing to cancel former President Donald Trump's immigration policies, despite its success in curbing the flood of irregular migrants by building an iron fence that reduced their numbers to acceptable levels, before the situation turned around and Biden stopped building the fence, which brought the number of irregular migrants to record high rates.
Republicans blame Biden for ignoring the immigration crisis and the open southern borders, especially for his repeal of Article 42, which reduced the number of irregular immigrants to America.
Secret documents scandal
Days before the second anniversary of the start of Biden's rule, Americans were surprised by the scandal that Biden kept top-secret government documents in his private office in Washington, in addition to documents in his home in Delaware dating back to his tenure as former Vice President Barack Obama.
Merrick Garland, the attorney general, was forced to name Robert Hoare, a private investigator, to investigate "the unauthorized transfer and illegal retention of classified documents or other government records."
Thus, after two years in office, Biden is now 80 years old, the oldest American president in history, and he will be 82 by the time of the 2024 elections, in which he intends to run for a second term.