After reading several articles assessing President Biden’s first year (e.g., Biden’s biggest first-year blunders) and Second Guessing Biden’s First Year), I would like to chip in my two cents: grade C!
1. Overview
Overall, the Biden Presidency is failing for one main reason, highlighted below.
In other words, he strives to be a “transformational” leader, without accepting the fact that he was elected as a “transitional” leader, as the majority of American voters were unhappy about Trump’s unorthodox Presidency.
Here is how I grade his first year in office:
Specifically, below are five big categories:
- Restoring normalcy: A.
- Covid-19: C.
- Domestic policy: C.
- Foreign policy: D.
- Political reforms: F.
Let me elaborate on each …
1. Restoring normalcy: A
Many Americans were so fed up with Trump’s unorthodox Presidency that just by not being Trump, Biden not only won the 2020 election, but also sailed through his first 100 days in the White House without needing to do much.
2. Covid-19: C
President Biden did well for the first few months, especially in terms of vaccines and vaccination. Then his administration failed badly in dealing with Delta and Omicron variants, as highlighted by the image below.
3. Domestic policy: C
All signs indicate President Biden is just yet another mediocre President in the making. Five examples:
- Congress passes defense policy bill with budget boost, military justice reforms. So, there is no peace dividend for America!
- Congress passes $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.
- Biden concedes Build Back Better bill won’t get passed this year.
- Congress failed on voting rights. What does it say about American democracy?
- Crisis at the border: How it happened and what is being done: This will be a big campaign issue in 2022 and 2024.
4. Foreign policy: D
Two examples:
- It was good to end the war in Afghanistan, although President Trump deserves credit for setting this in motion (Biden faces Trump’s deadline on Afghanistan troop withdrawal: ‘Any way you cut it, we are headed for a messy outcome’).
- His administration has already failed badly on China and Russia. As a result, it’s very likely that America will soon face the Cuban Missile Crisis II. For more, read President Biden in the Real World of Three New Kingdoms.
In short, without the withdrawal in Afghanistan, President Biden would have scored “F” on foreign policy!
5. Political reforms: F
America is desperately in need of political reforms, as I have suggested (My Letter Exchange with President Biden). But President Biden has failed to listen.
6. Discussion
No President Biden, without President Trump!
Below is my reality check for America:
- The political system failed so badly by 2016 that Americans were willing to try out an outsider named Donald Trump.
- Unfortunately for America, President Trump failed miserably. So, Americans settled back on a “normal” guy named Joe Biden.
- Unfortunately for America, President Biden failed to recognize the real reason behind Trump’s electoral success in 2016, and tried to build back to 2016. As a result, there is now a clear path for Trump to return to the White House in 2024!
7. More discussion
Here are two must-dos for America:
- Political reforms at home.
- Reducing America’s empire footprints abroad.
Let me briefly elaborate on each …
7.1 Political reforms at home
Simply put, America was founded by/of/for the rich, and remains so today, with money behind everything, especially in politics.
In an extreme view, the US government has 2 primary functions:
- Buying weapons at home.
- Selling weapons abroad.
Fact: The only significant bill passed by the US Congress in 2021, with overwhelming bi-partisan support (highlighted by the image below), was the defense bill, with more money to the Pentagon than it asked for!
| Bill (2021) | House Votes (yes:no) | Senate Votes (yes:no) |
| Defense | 363:70 | 89:10 |
| Infrastructure | 228:206 | 69:30 |
| Rescue | 220:211 | 50:49 |
For more, watch the video below.
7.2 Reducing America’s empire footprints abroad
The era of America’s global hegemony is over, thanks to the rise of Russia and China!
Unfortunately for the world, President Biden has failed to recognize this reality. As a result, if you think President Trump was bad, President Biden can be much worse!
Specifically, here is an analogy: Trump vs. Biden – Going out kicking & screaming:
- Trump lost the 2020 election, but refused to accept it, going out kicking & screaming, taking America down with him (2021 United States Capitol attack).
- The US is losing its hegemony, thanks to the rise of Russia and China. The Biden administration is refusing to accept it, going out kicking & screaming, taking the world down with it. For more, read President Biden in the Real World of Three New Kingdoms.
8. Still more discussion
For a more robust discussion of political reforms badly needed in America, read my book: History 2.0 – China’s Comeback vs. America’s Decline.
9. Closing
The bar for measuring the greatness of an American President is very low. I have, therefore, very generously given President Biden “C” for his overall performance so far.
Now, please sit back and enjoy the video below.
