President Biden has entered the “lame duck” period — those closing days of a presidency when the person in the Oval Office loses his influence and relevancy. Yes, he is still the President and has powers, but the world is basically looking over his shoulder. This is also a period in which folks start speculating about a president’s legacy – not what he will do, but what he has done. That conversation has already started on the talk shows.
As a backdrop to assessing Biden’s legacy, it is important to understand that he leaves office as one of the more unpopular presidents in American history. A compilation of the leading polls shows that Biden is viewed unfavorably by more than 60 percent of the American public – and that is an improvement over his pre-retirement ratings. Fewer than four out of ten people think Biden did a good job. Obviously, that weighs heavily on the issue of legacy.
Apart from the quirky oddities of his personality (hair sniffing and baby biting) – and the generally unfavorable opinion the American people have of Biden – it is difficult to see a positive legacy. In addition, there is a total lack of historic-level accomplishments – but there is a notable record of failures.
We know what HE would like his legacy to be. Basically, it centers on his major legislative packages passed by Congress in the early years of his presidency. There can be no doubt that he and congressional Democrats passed major legislation. Whether it has been as beneficial to America as Team Biden claims is an open question. The level of spending is considered irresponsible and a major contributor to the inflation. Most people view his handling of the economy as a disaster. And the inflation will be remembered long after the “chips act” and the mislabeled Inflation Reduction Act have fade from the nation’s collective memory.
As the presidential campaign heated up, the Biden/Harris administration pointed to a reduction in the rate of inflation, the drop in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, lower numbers of illegal border crossings and a reduction in crime. Ironically, those were only modest improvements in problems that Biden’s policies or inattention had created.
Let us look at Biden’s major issues more specifically.
National Unity
Biden promised to be a unifying president. Whatever his intention, he presided over a political party and policies that divided Americans into competing demographic groups. Team Biden not only embraced a never-Trump policy, but they also demonized half the American public as cultists, misogynists, homophobes, xenophobes, racists, and anti-American fascist coup plotters.
The Economy.
Democrats focus on the reduction in the RATE of inflation. That is not the legacy issue. Biden’s real legacy is the soaring inflationary prices THAT ARE STILL WITH US – and will be for the foreseeable future. The damage Biden did is now baked into the economy. The high prices are his legacy. That is confirmed by the fact that most voters trusted Trump more in terms of handling the economy. According to 2024 exit polls, it was the economy that played the major role in the defeat of his Vice President.
Interest Rates
Biden policies have forced millions of Americans to rely on credit for basic needs – and at a time when credit rates have soared. Any American with a credit card knows that the more recent reduction in the credit rate by the Fed may be of some benefit to large corporations — or nations borrowing money on a grand scale — but has done nothing to reduce the credit rates paid by consumers. Forty percent of credit card holders have paid late fees in recent months – and millions have fallen in the credit card trap. That problem continues – and that is the Biden legacy.
Illegal Border Crossing
The irrefutable fact is that the Biden administration allowed – and encouraged – an unprecedented number of illegal border crossers to enter and remain in the United States. The number has created multiple crises – crime, drugs, overwhelming social services, disrupting communities and excessively burdening taxpayers. A short term reduction in daily crossings does not correct that problem inflicted on the American Public. We will have to deal with that for years to come. That is Biden’s legacy.
Crime
On the matter of crime, the Biden years saw an increase in the number of crimes and the severity. Anecdotally, there was an increase in horrific crimes committed by illegal aliens — and an increase in gang and drug crimes. The reported reduction in crimes in the final years of the Biden administration was largely due to “creative accounting” and the fact that Democrat prosecutors were refusing to prosecute certain crimes. Then there was that defund the police movement. Biden said he did not favor defunding police, but local Democrats were doing just that – and Biden did favor shifting police enforcement money into social welfare approaches.
Afghanistan
Biden’s ill-conceived and poorly executed surrender in Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of 13 American military personnel and 170 Afghan civilians seeking escape. Biden literally handed that nation and its resources over to the terrorist Taliban. It also left American citizens, and Afghan allies, behind to be tracked down and killed by the Taliban. It returned Afghanistan to a theocracy that now oppresses women, gays and perceived infidels.
Ukraine
Biden’s feckless too little/too late policy enabled Putin to invade Ukraine – and resulted in the dragging out of the conflict as a deadly stalemate. It now appears that any negotiated peace agreement will result in Putin gaining more territory and resources. The war that began on Biden’s watch rages on – and is escalating.
Iran
Biden’s accommodation to Iran – including providing billions of dollars to the terrorist state — allowed Tehran to muscle-up and sponsor terrorism throughout the Middle East – including the attack on Israel that launched the Hamas war. On Biden’s watch, Iran surrogates continue to attack American assets and kill American military personnel.
Israel
Biden’s tried to play it both ways in terms of the Hamas war. While he continued to send military aid, he took up the Hamas propaganda line by blaming the Jewish state for excessive civilian casualties. He was more focused on not expanding the war than winning it. Another war that started on Biden’s watch continues – and is widening.
Rising antisemitism
Biden’s equivocation on the Hamas war also led to the antisemitic protests that swept American campuses – and was seen on the streets of New York City. While Biden is not antisemitic, his policies allowed it to blossom.
Wokeness, political correctness and identity politics
Despite Biden’s crafted image as a moderate “lunch bucket Joe,” he governed over a political party that took America to the radical left-wing woke absurdity of identity politics and political correctness, with men dominating girls’ sports … forced gender pronouns … and underage abortions and gender switching without parental agreement or even knowledge. Schools became laboratories for social engineering.
Minority stagnation
Despite the highly promoted narrative of the Democratic Party’s dedication to civil rights, there was virtually no improvement in the lives of Blacks and Hispanics who remain segregated and oppressed in America’s urban centers – communities controlled for generations by Biden’s powerful political allies.
Comparing legacies
Biden’s team claims that he has been one of the most successful presidents in American history — with a strong legacy. But how does he really compare?
I simply do not see great legacy material. Rather I see a one-term president with more negatives on his report card than positives. He is leaving office with one of the lowest approval ratings since Richard Nixon (24%). President Truman and Johnson both were forced to give up reelection bids by low approval ratings, 22 percent and 36 percent, respectively. At the time Biden withdrew from the campaign, his favorable rating was approximately 36 percent.
Ironically, all three of his unpopular predecessors were more accomplished than Biden. Truman for ending the war. Johnson for his Great Society and War on Poverty programs – and the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. Nixon for rapprochement with China and affirmative action legislation. Those were accomplishments that changed the course of history.
The Biden legislative achievements are not on the scale of Johnson’s civil rights bills or Nixon’s affirmative action legislation. The so-called “chips act” and the Inflation Reduction Act simply do not have the same historical shelf life.
And then there were presidents who left office with high favorable ratings – and legacies far more impressive than Biden. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama.
Summary
Despite the political cheerleading from Biden’s contemporary fan club, he just does not have any accomplishments that will stand the test of time. When history looks back with the advantage of hindsight, it is more likely that Trump will be the most remembered President of this era. Biden will land in the ranks alongside such predecessors as John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, James Buchannan, William Henry Harrison, Calvin Coolidge, Bill Clinton, George W Bush and others – notable in their day, but no enduring legacy.
So, there ‘tis.