During the 2020 campaign, Joseph R. Biden Jr. criticized Donald J. Trump as “a sitting president who creates more chaos than order.” After defeating Trump, Biden told the nation in his inaugural address that he would reverse the “chaos” he had inherited.
The new president essentially promised to usher in a calmer era as a responsible adult to Trump's violent Twitter bombers.
But the world did not cooperate. Although Biden has restored order to the White House and behaved with the same civility as before Trump, he has still presided over turbulent times that have left many Americans uneasy. Inflation, an explosion of migrants at the border and wars in Europe and the Middle East have created a sense of instability, and polls show his support is declining.
This impression has been fueled to some degree by conservative media outlets that bombard viewers and readers with reports on “Biden border chaos,” among other recurring themes. But polls show that satisfaction with the country's direction has halved since Biden took office three years ago. And paradoxically, Trump, once labeled a “president of chaos” by his Republican opponents, is now using fading memories of his own time in office as an antidote to anarchy. Selling yourself.
David Axelrod, a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, said, “Mr. I think I accomplished that,” he said. . “But he has faced difficult circumstances, events generally over which he has little control, creating a sense of anarchy, and the self-styled strongman is now offering to come back and step into the breakthrough.”
Biden, who enters the House of Representatives on Thursday night to deliver his final State of the Union address before the November election, faces the challenge of reassuring Americans that he is in control, rather than the other way around. are doing. Advisers hope the strong performance sends a message that Biden's mature leadership remains preferable to his indicted challenger's volatile brand of constant combat and norm-busting. There is.
Mr. Biden plans to address public concerns by emphasizing efforts to reduce the cost of living, and Americans are touting the strong economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns and shutdowns that began under Mr. Trump. will try to convince you. By contrast, he cited his party's rejection of a bipartisan border deal to stem the flow of migrants and its refusal to even bring security aid to Ukraine and Israel to a vote in the House. This may emphasize the confusion in the Republican Party.
“While the world continues to experience even more instability, the bottom line is that no one in the world is questioning Biden's word or reputation,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey. Stated. “There are factors that we can't control. We can't control an attack on the Middle East or an invasion of Ukraine. “But his response to external instability is to demonstrate American leadership, and that's his I think it's an accomplishment.”
Biden's pledge to return to normalcy comes at a time when he was first sworn in as president, especially after a mob stormed the Capitol by a mob incited by Trump in an attempt to block the extradition, and Democrats and many Republicans, as well as international allies. It brought a great sense of relief to me. of power. Military units and security fences gave Washington the impression of a city under siege.
The new president was the exact opposite of the previous president. He didn't start daily flame wars or suddenly fire his cabinet members in tweets. He did not threaten American friends abroad or vow “retaliation” against enemies at home. He was a throwback to another era.
But by the summer of Mr. Biden's first year in office, Taliban forces stormed Kabul, leaving a U.S. soldier dead as Afghans raced for the airport runway to escape on departing planes. The sense of order was disrupted by the chaotic military withdrawal. Terrorist bombing incident. Biden's approval rating had already begun to decline from a high of 57% in the Gallup poll, but it fell to 43% after his departure and has not recovered since then.
He couldn't help as inflation reached a 40-year high, border crossings reached record numbers, Russia invaded Ukraine and Hamas attacked Israel. The mood of the nation turned dark. Forty-five percent of Americans feel satisfied with the state of affairs at home since Biden took office, the highest level since 2005, but only 19% are currently satisfied.
“They're seeing it at home with prices, and they're seeing it around the world, at the border, in Afghanistan, in Ukraine, in the Middle East,” said former Gov. Scott Walker. the Republican Wisconsin state lawmaker said in an interview. “And they say, 'In exchange for stability, I'll take on a few tweets that I don't like.'”
A recent CBS News poll found that only 31% of people think Biden's policies will increase peace and stability, but they think Trump winning a second term would increase peace and stability. 47% of people said yes. Conversely, 36% think Mr. Trump will undermine peace and stability, and 43% think the same about Mr. Biden.
This has been a consistent theme in attacks on Biden by Trump and his supporters in conservative media. “His policies now will only cause havoc at home and abroad,” Sean Hannity said on Fox News in November. “In many ways, we are living in hell right now,” Trump declared in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.
The Biden campaign responded to Trump's comments by reminding Americans of what the past four years have been like. “America already had the opportunity to choose whether they wanted another four years of hell with Donald Trump's chaos, division, and insanity, and they said no,” a campaign spokesperson said in a statement. Stated.
Despite public concerns, there are currently many indicators of stability in the United States. The coronavirus has gone from being a society-shaking killer to a more manageable health problem. Violent crime last year was near its lowest level in more than 50 years, according to recent data. Although prices have not fallen, the inflation rate has fallen to 3.1% after peaking at 9.1% in 2022.
Recession fears have receded, the unemployment rate has remained below 4% for the longest time since the Vietnam War, the stock market has set records, wage increases have outpaced price increases, and domestic energy production is at an all-time high. ing. And as wars intensify in Europe and the Middle East, for the first time in decades, American troops are not in the midst of them.
Andrew Bates said: “President Biden's values and determination are what have enabled us to defeat the coronavirus recession and enable our economy to outperform all of our competitors, from radical abortion bans to fundamental freedoms. “and restored respect for the rule of law to the Oval Office.” White House press secretary.
Many voters still don't see it in their lives or don't think Biden is the one making the difference. A New York Times/Siena College poll last month found that only 26% of people said the economy was good or excellent. But it was 6 points higher than the previous poll, and Biden's advisers hope that by the fall, economic optimism will increase and lead to more political support.
The president's allies say his conduct during his time in office should be more important than events outside of his control, and foreign officials have said in interviews that Trump's unpredictable and often hostile Mr. He has always said he wants to deal with Biden.
Democrats argued that Biden should use the State of the Union address and other opportunities to highlight the turmoil within the Republican Party and force Republicans to turn the tables. It was suspended last year when the speaker of the House of Representatives was replaced, leaving the country without a leader. 3 weeks.
“He has a strong case against Republicans who have failed to pass government funding, withheld the Ukraine supplemental bill, experienced speaker drama, and are more focused on leadership contests than on what matters to the United States.” “People who have the opportunity to draw,'' said former Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Florida. “It will be an opportunity for him to draw a contrast.”
“But it's very hard to deny that the American people are really worried, not just from a foreign policy standpoint, but from an economic standpoint,” she acknowledged.