President Joe Biden has announced that he is seeking a second term as president of the United States, encouraging Americans to continue righting the ship after Trump’s tumultuous and damaging administration. “Let’s finish the job,” said President Biden in his campaign announcement.
During his first three years in office, Biden has accomplished more than nearly any president in recent history. As NPR recently reported: “Biden’s policies have largely been popular, including climate and health care measures in the Inflation Reduction Act, and bipartisan spending bills on infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing. That’s helped him to make a strong case for himself for 2024, said Democratic strategist Lis Smith, an adviser to Pete Buttigieg in his 2020 bid. ‘Joe Biden has had one of the most successful first two years of any president in recent history,’ Smith said. ‘He has been dismissed and discounted at every turn, and still overperformed expectations.’”
President Biden’s accomplishments in the White House have stabilized our economy and built strong international partnerships. Simply put, his plan is working. As The New York Times reported last month, “Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, rose at 1.1 percent annual rate in the first quarter, according to preliminary data released by the Commerce Department,” going on to note “a third straight quarter of growth.” Writes the Times’ Ben Casselman, “Consumers have been buoyed by a strong job market and rising wages,” which means that Americans feel stable and are willing to spend their earnings on goods and services.
Biden’s stable economic goals are mirrored in his foreign policy. “Fix what’s broken” could easily be his motto. CNN recently described his successes at home and abroad: “The president’s tenure in office so far has been marked by key triumphs for his colossal policy agenda, including successfully pushing forward and compromising on a broad set of legacy-making, high pricetag priorities with Congress that addressed funding for the COVID-19 pandemic, rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, bolstering domestic semiconductor chip production, and addressing climate change. And under Biden’s watch, the US has attempted to undo Trump’s legacy of diplomacy operating through a nationalist lens, returning to global agreements and reinforcing partnerships with allies who had been jilted by his predecessor.”
Far-right MAGA extremists have complained that Joe Biden is too old to run again. Biden addressed this before his campaign launch, saying he took “a hard look” at his age and determined with his physicians that he is fit to remain in office. When asked by ABC News chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce about his age and a potential Biden-Trump matchup, Biden responded, “I know him well, and I know the danger he presents to our democracy.” The simple fact of the matter is that Biden is only three years older than Trump. That’s hardly a dramatic difference in age. If we’re going to express concern about age, that question impacts both parties in this election. Far more important to consider are our leaders’ morality and proven capability.
After all, the thought of a second Trump administration inspires dread in the hearts of many Americans — and not simply those progressives who stand on the far left. As AP News described it: “Few things have unified Democratic voters like the prospect of Trump returning to power. And Biden’s political standing within his party stabilized after Democrats notched a stronger-than-expected performance in last year’s midterm elections. The president is set to run again on the same themes that buoyed his party last fall.”
Politico also commented on the growing bipartisan opposition to a potential Trump campaign. “[Biden’s] team believes the electoral map remains tilted in his favor. In 2020, he won back the Great Lakes trio of states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — that Trump swiped four years earlier and Biden has relentlessly campaigned in those states, touting his middle class roots and union support. And Democrats believe that suburban dismay at Trump’s behavior and some extreme Republican positions on issues like abortion and guns could slide new battleground states like Georgia and Arizona in the president’s column.”
“This is not a time to be complacent,” says President Biden in his campaign announcement. “That’s why I am running for re-election — because I know America. I know we’re good and decent people. I know we’re still a country that believes in honesty and respect and treating each other with dignity.”
Bill Freeman
Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post, and The News.
