Photograph Source: The White House – Public Domain
When President Joseph R. Biden finally removed himself from the race for a second presidential term on July 21, there followed a cascade of high praise, not only for his “brave decision” to step down but also for his “remarkable achievements” over a lifetime of public service. Both long-time colleagues and the major media applauded him in columns or tweets. In a New York Times opinion, historian Jon Meacham called the President’s decision to end his campaign “one of the most remarkable acts of leadership in our history.”
The President can take credit for a number of domestic achievements during his term of office. Most notably, he oversaw dramatic post-Covid job growth; lowered costs for diabetes drugs; subsidized the production of computer microchips; increased veterans’ war-related benefits; and achieved major legislation on climate and infrastructure. Perhaps his most enduring accomplishment was to set a high standard for diversity in his judicial and Cabinet appointments, which included representation from various minority groups, including racial and ethnic minorities, women and gays. He also appointed the first Native American as Secretary of the Interior.
During the Biden presidency, there were also catastrophic failings: the President’s chaotic and ill-prepared evacuation of U.S. troops from Afghanistan; his push back against negotiations to prevent and later end the Ukraine war; his repeated multi-billion-dollar weapons transfers to the Zelensky government; and his inability to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire–all the while delivering a constant stream of bombs and missiles to the IDF. The last failing earned him the dubious title of “Genocide Joe.”
If we examine Biden’s failures as president in more detail, we see that they each cost the United States dearly–in lives, taxpayer money and global reputation. In the overdue U.S. exit from Afghanistan, many Afghan and some American lives were lost for lack of adequate advance planning. Many Afghans who had helped American forces as translators, drivers or other service employees were left behind in fear of retribution by the Taliban.
In an effort to degrade the Russian military, Biden discouraged Ukraine from negotiations before the war and from talks later to end it–apparently preferring to carry on a proxy war against Vladimir Putin on the backs of Ukrainian soldiers. NATO’s threat to admit Ukraine right on Russia’s doorstep gave Putin an excuse to send his tanks barreling toward Kiev in February 2022. Instead of simply celebrating Ukraine’s repulsion of Russian forces and Kyiv’s survival in a just war of self-defense, Biden organized a coalition of NATO partners to begin massive weapons transfers to aid Ukraine’s expanded “second war” in the southern and eastern parts of the country, which since 2014 were the scene of a Russian-backed ethnic conflict. Although many leaders praised Biden for his leadership in the NATO partnership, the coalition has been at least partly responsible for prolonging the war. Given Russia’s population of more than four times that of Ukraine, it’s not surprising that after two and a half years of brutal conflict, Ukraine is not only failing to achieve its top strategic goals but is currently losing ground. Biden has encouraged European leaders to put their faith in a NATO that has nearly surrounded Russia and pushed military rather than diplomatic solutions.
Even if Biden’s ongoing support of Netanyahu’s genocide in Gaza does not result in ICJ charges of complicity, it will be a lasting and shameful blot on his legacy. The President’s greatest blunder has been his steadfast support of Netanyahu and continuing arms aid to the IDF, which has killed almost 40,000 Palestinians (mostly children and women) and destroyed not only residential areas and community infrastructure, but also most medical, educational, religious and cultural facilities. Experts say it will take tens of billions of dollars to make Gaza habitable again. No such remedy is in sight for the 90,000 Palestinians suffering serious injuries from Israel’s onslaught. Meanwhile, Gazans are stuck in an open-air prison that lacks not only health workers and hospitals, but also adequate water and food.
Biden’s recent withdrawal from the presidential race and his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor may open new possibilities for change. Her absence from the Netanyahu address to Congress on July 24 could be a first sign of a distancing from Joe Biden’s war policies toward Gaza. If Harris wins the party nomination and the election, she has a chance to stop more arms shipments and to reassess America’s relationship with the leaders of Israel and the Arab states.
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