True to his empathetic tone, the 46th President of the United States leaves his mark with, among other things, careful communication and formulas that hit the mark.
On Wednesday, on the eve of his symbolic 100-day anniversary, Joe Biden will deliver his first policy speech to Congress
AFP
He has seen big. He moved fast. He surprised his detractors and some of his supporters. In 100 days, Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States of America, made his mark.
Sleeveless, true to the empathetic and willingly familiar tone he loves, the one who was first elected on a promise of calm after the Trump storm strides forward.
Mocked for his hesitations and blunders? He shows himself to be disciplined, with carefully calibrated communication to support him. He stands up to Russian presidents Vladimir Putin and Chinese presidents Xi Jinping with formulas that hit the mark. “He doesn’t have an ounce of democracy in him,” he blurted out about his Chinese counterpart.
Accused of running out of safe? The oldest president in history puts forward record after record on the vaccination against the coronavirus, with more than 200 million doses administered. In a few weeks, he had a plan to support the economy of 1900 billion dollars adopted and in the process proposed another on infrastructure of an equivalent amount.
“He was underestimated”
“He was underestimated, but part of the reason is his career. During his career as a senator, he has always favored pragmatism and small changes, ”Julian Zelizer, professor of history at Princeton University, told AFP. Even during his campaign, he praised moderation and normality. In a way, he changed his strategy by opting for more daring. It is a strategy which, from a political point of view, has paid off ”.
Symbol of a simple style that he claims, he regularly takes out of his suit pocket a small sheet on which are written the main indicators of the Covid-19 pandemic, including the number of deaths.
Surrounded by a team hitherto united, it offers the spectacle of a presidency without dramas or scandals. The announced split of the Democratic Party did not take place. The left wing has shown some signs of impatience, but has so far supported ‘Joe’.
«America is back»
On a daily basis, the White House gives the image of a “well-oiled machine”, to use the phrase used by former US President Donald Trump to describe, in a strange twist, the chaos that reigned in the corridors of the prestigious West Wing during his tenure.
On the international front too, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr quickly positioned himself. Its “climate summit” – virtual but well orchestrated – marked in a spectacular way the return of the United States (“America is back”) in this diplomatic game from which its predecessor had withdrew with a crash.
This high mass barely finished, he kept Saturday an emblematic campaign promise: he pronounced the word “genocide” to speak of the death of a million and a half Armenians massacred by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. None of his predecessors had not dared, fearing the strong reaction of Turkey: Barack Obama had also pledged to do so, but had stepped back once installed in the Oval Office.
Narrow majority
As a veteran of Washington, however, he knows that the hardest part is yet to come. Its narrow majority in Congress is a vulnerability: it places a handful of Democratic senators, such as Joe Manchin, in the position of overpowered referees.
Its infrastructure investment plan is only a project to date. The discussions promise to be bitter, the outcome of the legislative battle is uncertain. On firearms, as on electoral laws, his powerlessness may soon become glaringly obvious.
Finally, on the thorny issue of immigration, Joe Biden has been on the defensive since coming to power. Trial and error, backpedaling: torn between the promise of a more “humane” migration policy and the crisis at the Mexican border, with arrivals by thousands of migrants, the White House is struggling.
Flattering comparisons
On Wednesday, on the eve of the symbolic 100-day anniversary, he will deliver his first general policy speech to Congress. Its spokesperson Jen Psaki promised a speech centered on childhood, education, health, “the priorities of the middle class”, with, at the heart of the device, a rise in taxes for richer Americans.
In the Democratic camp, the machine is racing, flattering comparisons, sometimes hasty, rain. Some evoke Franklin D. Roosevelt (“FDR”) and the audacity of the New Deal to raise the country mired in the great depression. Others cite Lyndon B. Johnson, who had used his fine knowledge of the workings of Congress to move the lines in American society.
Opposite, deprived of his Twitter account but especially of the powerful megaphone of the presidency, Donald Trump is for the moment inaudible. His angry, almost daily press releases fall into the void. But he remains extremely popular in the Republican camp. He could give voice to the approach of the midterm elections at the end of 2022, where Joe Biden will play big.
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