When he announced his candidacy for the US presidency in 2019, Joe Biden was largely seen as an 'also ran' who would never make it past the first few rounds in the democratic primary. He belied all the pundits and then consistently beat Donald Trump in all pre-poll surveys. Eventually, he beat the 45th president by over eight million votes and 306:232 in the complicated electoral college math, 36 more than he needed. The pundits then dubbed him the stop-gap president who would keep the seat warm for the next generation of democrats.
Biden's vice president, the Asian-American Kamala Harris, was one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that happened, she would become the first Asian-American to ascend the presidency, also the first woman. But within the first year, Harris made several missteps, like telling the Latinos they were not welcome in America and to stay in their countries. She also quickly achieved a historically low approval rating for a vice president, at 28 per cent.
Biden demolished every supposition espoused about his longevity, his reflexes, and his foreign policy. It did seem short-term thinking when he announced the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, but it was good for America, ending the forever war. He has steadfastly stayed away from the tantalising invitation by America's cold war ally, Russia.
It's often said that the public memory is short. Those who voted for the Biden-Harris ticket seem to have forgotten within eighteen months how mind-numbing it was living in the Trump era, being surprised every morning when every demeaning tweet against the minorities had become acceptable. As a minority immigrant, it feels a lot different than how fellow minorities are treated in several other countries. That is the sanity that Biden's leadership provides. Even when he goes off the script, I rest assured he will not ramble when not reading off a teleprompter - that he will look out for both sides, the Democrats and the Republicans, and that he will not target any specific community to bolster his poll numbers.
There is some speculation whether Biden will run again. Whether he will be able to or will he want to. There was also some conjecture that Harris would be nominated for the Supreme Court and a new vice president would be inducted so that the Democrats have a new face for 2024. But then, these remained canards, and the Biden-Harris duo seem poised to run again.
Whatever the outcome of the upcoming Mid-term elections, Biden has shown again America means business, that a post-American world is still a faraway thought and that he is the new FDR. Or maybe LBJ, or just JRB. The president America needed in this moment. Even if he goes on to lose the razor-thin majority in the Senate, he may still be able to attract supporters from the other side, just like he did during the nomination of the first Black woman as a Supreme court justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson. Even before he was picked by Barack Obama as his running mate, Biden was known as someone who could mobilise support from both sides of the aisle. But more than that, he was chosen because of his diplomatic skills and foreign policy experience. Now, more than ever, America could use his skills in shaping its foreign policy for the decades to come. He may currently be less popular than Volodymyr Zelensky among the Americans, but his impact on American society will be felt for years to come.
Unwittingly, Vladimir Putin has become the biggest advertiser for NATO's membership. With Finland and Sweden volunteering to join the group, despite Turkey's opposition, we can expect more countries to raise their hands. This underscores America's rejuvenated position in the world, which was being continually questioned under its previous president. His focus on China by raising the Taiwan issue ever so often harks back to the fact that it may be a long-term play. China is the competitor the US cannot live without and cannot allow to become stronger than itself either. President Biden has avowed his support for Taiwan in case Xi Jinping decides to invade. Not all countries can afford to claim the China invasion did not happen, and that they are not within our territory, building bridges and settling a village.
As for the rest of the world, the Biden administration has not shown any interest or a robust departure from earlier engagements in Africa, the Middle East, or Latin America. With two more years to go before Biden's future is decided, he will need to do better in these geographies. If the diminishing support for Uncle Sam globally was a concern, he is running out of time. The QUAD meeting may have provided a respite from the Russian onslaught and the dwindling support he finds from his own countrymen.
Lastly, the predicted onslaught in the midterms for Biden may be impacted by the ongoing January 6 trials, which aim to indict former President Donald Trump. Viewed by over 20 million people, the live telecast of the trials sure raises the possibility of influencing the swing voters. But there is no denying that more and more Democrats, though in whispered voices, agree Biden should call it a day before 2024.
(The author is a former Chief of Communications with UNICEF in New York, where he worked for over a decade)
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.