One year since Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump’s troublesome presidency, American opinion, judging by waning approval ratings, is not exactly overflowing with enthusiasm. The Democratic president, called upon to reverse the populist Trump administration and fix a country fractured by polarization, does not seem to be fulfilling his mission. And it is common knowledge that what a president fails to achieve during his early days in office only becomes more difficult to do later.
It is clear that Biden has tried to invoke the revanchist ambitions of the most radical members of his party, while at the same time plunging into a social rescue plan in response to the devastating impact of the pandemic. But his legislative agenda is still in its early stages. He has not managed to advance in-depth reform, and has not even been able to persuade his fellow citizens that it is necessary to reach much higher vaccination rates. Not to mention the embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan, an event that was traumatic and poorly justified as a matter of security. There is nothing as obviously symbolic of decline as relinquishing the exercise of democratic hegemony, which the United States, as the remaining leading power, has fully exercised since the end of World War II. On the contrary, Trump’s successor has hardly tried to distance himself from the isolationist legacy left by the former Republican president, jeopardizing the Atlantic alliance and joint defense agreement with European nations that gives meaning to NATO.
In the next midterm elections in Virginia, Biden will face a real plebiscite. And there are numerous signs that already point to an early failure, something that further damage his image. He is not helped by his listless demeanor — his nap at the climate summit being only one example that was quickly exploited by his detractors — or by how disappointing his second in command, Vice President Kamala Harris, is turning out to be. She rose as quickly as she disappeared from the scene.
In any case, Biden’s first term has only just begun. He has time to design the political legacy by which he wants to be remembered. Trumpism is by no means an exhausted movement, despite the fact that it went out with a bang after the shameful attack on the Capitol. That movement is waiting for the moment to return to power. Biden created reasonable expectations that helped him win. He has to act as soon as possible to live up to the hope people have placed in him.
Prematura decepción con Joe Biden
Cuando se cumple un año de la victoria de Joe Biden tras la conflictiva presidencia de Trump, el balance hecho por los propios estadounidenses, a juzgar por los índices menguantes de popularidad de Biden, no desborda precisamente de entusiasmo. El presidente demócrata, llamado a revertir la etapa populista de Trump y a coser un país fracturado por la polarización, no parece que lo esté logrando. Y es sabido que lo que no hace un presidente en sus primeros tiempos de mandato ya es difícil que pueda hacerlo después.
Es cierto que Biden ha tratado de conjurar las pretensiones revanchistas del ala más radical de su partido, al tiempo que se volcaba en un programa de recuperación social tras el paso destructor de la pandemia. Pero su obra legislativa todavía está en pañales: no consigue sacar a adelante reformas de calado y ni siquiera ha podido persuadir a sus compatriotas de la necesidad de alcanzar unas tasas de vacunación mucho más altas. Por no hablar de la vergonzosa salida de Afganistán, vivida de forma traumática y mal justificada como una pura misión de seguridad: ningún signo de decadencia es tan evidente como el de renunciar al ejercicio de la hegemonía democrática que Estados Unidos, como primera potencia que aún sigue siendo, se ha arrogado con pleno derecho desde el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Por el contrario, el sucesor de Trump apenas ha querido desviarse del legado aislacionista marcado por el presidente republicano, poniendo en peligro la relación atlántica y el compromiso común de defensa con las naciones europeas que da sentido a la OTAN.
En las próximas elecciones estatales de Virginia afronta Joe Biden un verdadero plebiscito. Y hay numerosas señales que apuntan ya a un fracaso prematuro, lo que dañaría aún más su imagen. No le ayuda su perfil de hombre apagado -el sueño que descabezó en la cumbre climática es solo un ejemplo, rápidamente explotado por sus detractores- ni tampoco la decepción que está resultando su segunda, la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris. Subió tan rápido como desapareció de escena.
La legislatura, en todo caso, acaba de empezar. Biden tiene tiempo para diseñar la herencia política por la que quiere ser recordado. El trumpismo no es en absoluto un movimiento agotado, pese a la bochornosa traca final del asalto al Capitolio, y aguarda el momento de regresar al poder. Biden creó unas expectativas razonables que le hicieron ganar las elecciones. Debe reaccionar cuanto antes para estar a la altura de las esperanzas depositadas en él.
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These countries ... have demonstrated that moral courage can coexist with diplomacy and that choosing humanity over expediency carries weight on the international stage.