Exactly one year ago, he took office with big goals and plans - to restart the US economy, which experienced a huge decline during the pandemic. But Biden's investment programs have been hit by strong seven percent inflation, the highest in decades. Biden's prestigious project, the Build Back Better welfare package, which was one of his biggest campaign promises, failed. Not because of the senators from the opponent, but because of the senators from his camp.

Uniting the Americans and overcoming divisions was another key promise made by Biden. But here too the balance is sobering: poverty in the United States is extremely deep as a result of the pandemic. The majority of the population that voted for the Republicans - half of the citizens - can not be reached with arguments. They cling to conspiracy theories and believe that Donald Trump is the real winner of the election and his victory has been stolen. Voters from both political camps have said what they think of Biden, who has a historically low level of popularity in opinion polls. The only consolation is - only Trump is less popular.

Solvable problems

The problem of migrants on the border with Mexico continues to escalate. President Biden is a prisoner of his own ideology on this issue: strict border controls or even extending and upgrading the border wall would mean that Trump was right! So Biden is simply ignoring this topic.

Of course, the problems President Biden faced when he took office a year ago were daunting. It was hard to imagine uniting such a large, heterogeneous, but also fragmented and economically shattered country in just one year anyway. Especially considering all the accidents that the pandemic brings, as well as the political polarization. However, Joe Biden will be measured by what he has done on these issues.

Biden is also opposed by his own party

In the end all this will be in the background. For months, Republican-led US states have been undermining democracy by changing the election law in their favor. Mostly the black population, which mostly votes for the Democrats, want to make it difficult for them to go to the polls or to transfer the responsibility for counting the votes exclusively to their own people and institutions. Trump's request after the 2020 election, according to which the Republican Minister of the Interior in the state of Georgia should find a way to get another 12.000 votes, may become a reality in the next elections. And in a completely legal way.

Joe Biden is aware of the problem. But he fails to act here either - not because of Republicans, but because of disobedient senators from his own ranks. They do not want to support a Senate amendment that would allow Biden to end such Republican activity. As Joe Biden sorts out his own party, Republicans have long planned a future attempt at electoral fraud that failed in 2020.

American democracy at stake?

If all goes well, the Democrats will face defeat in the by-elections to both houses of Congress next fall. Donald Trump could then be politically resurrected and even become speaker of the House of Representatives, as has been speculated in Capitol Hill. That would be the beginning of the end for Joe Biden, and perhaps the return of Donald Trump.

It will be crucial to stop Trump - not just for Joe Biden as US president, but for the future of American democracy. And with it for the whole western world.

Taken from Deutsche Welle

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