(New York) “Joe Biden is bored – it drives the media crazy. ”
The headline, published by the online magazine Saloon last March, ends, in a few words, in several American press elements last spring and early this summer.
This happened when the vaccine and the economy, with the support of the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package, were doing well in the United States. The ballot was in line, and voters said they wanted this new president, who seemed to combine active talent and control over speech or tweets.
Even Republicans were unconcerned by the controversy of the day, including the arrival of Donald Trump’s successor, the gay Mr Potato Head, and the removal of racist books from the D.R. Cheese.
What are they going to find to attack him with the midterm elections in November 2022?
How times have changed! Exactly nine months after assuming the presidency, Joe Biden is giving more material to journalists like Donald Trump. In terms of foreign policy, it is comparable to 45e President!
“It looks like Mr. Trump is doing it,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, condemning the decision as “unilateral, brutal and unpredictable.”
He spoke in support of the US Alliance, but said that maintaining some independence was not the answer. The breakdown of the security agreement negotiated between Washington, London and Canberra behind Paris.
Joe Biden will certainly boast of promoting US interests in the Indo-Pacific region. But the way he went about it was contrary to his promise to reunite with his country’s allies and partners. Another issue that has already suspended the US media earlier this month is a promise that has already been misused: the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The twist in vaccination
Joe Biden is very consistent when it comes to domestic politics. He reconsidered his opposition to the federal government vaccinating Govt-19 last December.
I will not listen to it [la vaccination] Is essential. But as President of the United States, I will do what I can to encourage people to do what is right and to show that it is important when they do.
Joe Biden, during an intervention in Wilmington, Delaware last December
The change of position of the President is preserved. After envying people abroad, the United States now lags behind industrialized countries in vaccinating. And the delta variant has the potential to wreak havoc in many states, which greatly illustrates Joe Biden’s fall in the polls.
So the president’s decision, announced on September 9, to introduce the obligation to vaccinate or to conduct weekly screening screenings for employees of companies with more than 100 employees, i.e. more than 80 million people. The decision comes with the condemnation of “elected officials” who are actively working to “undermine the struggle against Govt-19.” These officials include Republican governors from several states, including Texas and Florida. They oppose not only compulsory vaccination, but also the compulsory wearing of masks in public schools.
Photo by Brendan Smylovsky, Agency France-Press Archives
Joe Biden during his announcement on September 9th
Bored, Joe Biden? Not in this case, which may sue his administration.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson wrote in a letter to the president last Thursday that “your plan is catastrophic and reactionary” signed by representatives of two dozen Republicans and threatening the president with a lawsuit.
Joe Biden should not move. At this point, he not only has the law on his side, but also trusts the majority of voters, which polls confirm.
Two main projects
But in the coming weeks Joe Biden’s president may be in the U.S. Congress enjoying his moment of reality. With a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, Democrats will have to decide the fate of the two largest construction sites in Washington in decades.
One from a bilateral bill already passed in the Senate. It invests $ 1.2 trillion in traditional infrastructure – bridges, roads, ports, airports, etc.
The other is a $ 3.5 trillion plan to expand the social security network and combat climate change. It includes many of the priorities of the Democratic Progressive Party in health, education, family support and the environment. Nothing of such ambition has been achieved by the US government in nearly 60 years.
But the question is what will be left of the plan after ongoing negotiations between the various Democratic groups in the Senate and House. Very moderate or conservative, including senators Joe Manzin (West Virginia) and Kirsten Cinema (Arizona), the project is too expensive. Others oppose certain measures or tax increases planned to fund new projects.
Photo by Evelyn Hawkstein, archive owners
Joe Munchin, a Democratic senator from West Virginia
Many progressive delegates are threatening a two-party bill on traditional infrastructure if the $ 3.5 trillion plan is reduced to $ 1.5 trillion or less, as Senator Munchin called it.
Failure in both projects is unlikely. This will be catastrophic for Joe Biden and the Democrats, who will weaken and split in the face of the electorate in 2022 and 2024.
46e So the president is going to play big, very big in the next few weeks. He raised the debt ceiling to avoid installments, especially since he would have to negotiate simultaneously with the Senate Republicans.
None of this will be boring or relaxing for the media.
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