PRESIDENT BIDEN FALLS SHORT ON HIS
PROMISES TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
By Christian Rosario
Editor’s Note: Views expressed in this article are
solely from the author's opinions and beliefs.
​
On January 19, 2022, President Joe Biden held a press conference during which reporters had the opportunity to ask questions regarding current events such as: the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, containment of COVID-19, economic growth, and rising crime. Reporters have been treating President Biden quite fairly compared to the way they treated former President Trump, but this press conference found reporters scolding Joe Biden for his lies to the American people.
On January 20, 2021, President Biden told the American people that he plans on “Bringing America together, uniting our people, and uniting our nation.” However, according to an article from Newsweek titled “Only 23 Percent of Americans Say Country Is More United Under Biden: Poll” by David Chiu, “The new poll comes on the heels of Biden's address to Congress on Wednesday in which he outlined his plans for infrastructure, immigration reform, taxes and racial justice reform. In an earlier ABC News/Washington Post poll, 52 percent of Americans approved the work Biden was doing in his first 100 days in office—the lowest for a president since 1945.”
President Biden also promised to “shut down the virus.” Meanwhile, an article from WebMD titled “U.S. COVID-19 Deaths in 2021 Surpass 2020 Total” by Carolyn Crist states, “Overall, more than 771,000 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the U.S. during the pandemic. About 385,000 were reported in 2020, according to CDC data, and more than 386,000 have been reported this year. The 2021 total will continue to increase in coming weeks as COVID-19 cases rise again in 30 states, according to The Hill.”
Bayside High School English teacher Mr. Weissmann states, “For him [Joe Biden] to call it a year of enormous progress either means he is deliberately lying, he is oblivious to the facts, or both.” Due to the lack of progress seen by President Biden’s actions towards accomplishing his promises, reporters questioned his efficacy toward the many crises this country faces.
An article from The New York Times titled “Illegal Border Crossings, Driven by Pandemic and Natural Disasters, Soar to Record High” by Eileen Sullivan and Miriam Jordan states, “A record 1.7 million migrants… were encountered trying to enter the United States illegally in the last 12 months. But the nearly 147,000 children whom agents encountered without parents or guardians was the largest number since 2008, when the government started tallying unaccompanied minors. Finding shelter for these migrant children, until they can be released to relatives or other sponsors in the country, was one of the president’s earliest challenges.”
Bayside High School junior Kyle Soifer says “In some areas, I believe he has improved; while in others, he has not.” As seen in an article from FiveThirtyEight titled “One year In, Biden Has The Second-Lowest Approval Rating Of Any President” by Geoffrey Skelley and Jean Yi, “Biden’s approval rating has hovered in the low 40s for nearly three months, with roughly 42 percent of Americans currently approving of his job performance and 51 percent disapproving.” This approval rating is surprisingly high, considering he hit a record low of 33% approval on January 15, 2022.
Unfortunately, President Biden's press conference offered no glimmer of hope going forward, because America could use a leader right now.
