On Jan. 20, 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America.
At the time of his inauguration, roughly 4,000 Americans were dying from COVID-19 every single day, America’s economy was the worst it had been since the Great Depression, and America had just witnessed the worst attack on democracy since the Civil War.
Throughout his presidency, he passed monumental legislation likening him to that of Lyndon B. Johnson or Franklin D. Roosevelt. He rallied the world against Vladimir Putin of Russia after his invasion of Ukraine, the worst attack on Europe since World War II. He strengthened American democracy after the attempts to overturn his 2020 election win. At the end of his presidency, he hands Donald Trump the strongest economy in the world.
However, a forty-year high in inflation, mass illegal immigration, and an abysmal military withdrawal from Afghanistan taint his legacy. Biden’s old age resulted in gaffes, falls, and statements that made many question his physical and mental capacity for the job. His abrupt exit from the 2024 presidential race gave the Democratic Party weeks to organize a national campaign that usually takes years to prepare.
When Biden took office, less than half of the 42 million COVID-19 vaccine doses the U.S. had were used. Because of Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election, he ordered his allies in government to stop working with the Biden team as they prepared to take over. Biden’s team came in to find no plan to vaccinate the nation. Biden announced a goal of administering 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days. By Day 100, more than 200 million shots had been given.
Still, businesses were closed, schools were remote and the economy was in freefall. Biden began working with both parties on a major economic recovery bill. Democrats were ready to spend $2 trillion, to Republicans’ $600 billion. Biden and Democrats passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, leading to the lowest level of child poverty in U.S. history, record high business creation, rent assistance, and gave billions to state and local governments.
In November 2021, Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The IIJA was the largest infrastructure investment since President Dwight Eisenhower created the Interstate Highway System. The bill is set to repair one in every five miles of American roadway, repair 45,000 bridges in poor condition, and invested billions in broadband, internet and clean energy. The bill recieved a bipartisan vote in the House and Senate. It was so popular at least 16 Republicans who voted against it tried taking credit for its investments. Some even showed up to ribbon-cuttings in their states for the bills projects.
In 2022, Biden signed the Safer Communities Act into law, the strongest gun safety bill in thirty years. He signed the Inflation Reducation Act into law, the largest investment in climate and green energy in world history. He signed the bipartisan CHIPS Act to boost America’s semiconductor production. He codified same-sex marriage into law, reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, conserved more than 42 million acres of land and water, capped the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for Medicare users, forgave nearly $200 billion in student debt, secured the release of dozens of wrongfully detained Americans. He appointed the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, oversaw a 50-year-low in violent crime, a 50-year-low in unemployment, economic growth that defied predictions, expanded NATO and facilitated the largest investment in K-12 education in history. He appointed the most federal judges than any president since Reagan, became the first president to stand on a picket line, and oversaw the most housing construction in five decades.
However, Biden’s presidency also had its downfalls. Public perception of the economy was not good. Though the World Bank described America’s “impressive” economy as the, “envy of the world,” crippling inflation drove the price of groceries, gas, and other necessities to record highs. Though America’s inflation rate was one of the lowest in the developed world, consumers blamed the president and his administration did little to push back.
Another major stain on the Biden presidency was the surge of illegal immigration under his watch. After repealing many of Trump’s hardline actions to cut down on illegal immigration, millions made the journey to the U.S.-Mexico border. Record high border crossings made headlines across the nation, with little comment or action from the Biden administration.
