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Americans head to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new president amid widespread dissatisfaction and division, with polls indicating that nearly two-thirds of voters believe the country is on the wrong track under President Joe Biden. Despite the United States economy being the envy of the industrialized world, recovering strongly from Covid-related shutdowns with robust job growth and wage increases, many Americans feel that these benefits have been overshadowed by rising grocery and housing costs.
Regardless of whether former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris emerges victorious in the election, the next administration will inherit the legacy of a Biden presidency that fulfilled some promises, saw others derailed by events, and left some only partially achieved. Here's a look at how Biden handled the key issues of his tenure:
Foreign Policy
From the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to the civil unrest in Sudan, international conflicts have been at the forefront of Biden's foreign policy. Upon taking office, Biden pledged to restore U.S. global leadership and push back against a more assertive China. In some respects, his administration has succeeded in this regard. Following the tumultuous 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, Biden rallied U.S. allies to oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine and revitalized alliances across Asia to pressure China.
However, the U.S. has struggled to bring these protracted conflicts to a close and has been unable to prevent the strengthening ties between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. The war in Ukraine, now in its third year, continues despite billions of dollars in U.S. military aid and significant losses on both sides. The conflict has become increasingly international, with Western accusations that Moscow is receiving weapons and soldiers from North Korea, missiles and drones from Iran, and technical support from China.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which escalated when Hamas fighters launched a deadly attack into Israel, has expanded into a broader conflict involving Lebanese militants Hezbollah and sparked retaliatory attacks between Israel and Iran. Biden's strong support for Israel has divided his party and undermined the U.S.'s ability to criticize other nations on human rights and international law violations.
In Sudan, a conflict has triggered ethnic violence and famine conditions in the Darfur region, reminiscent of the violence two decades ago that led to the International Criminal Court charging former Sudanese leaders with genocide and crimes against humanity. The U.S. has been attempting to broker an end to the 18-month-long conflict.
Economy and Abortion
The most significant upheaval in abortion access in decades occurred during Biden's presidency, driven by a Supreme Court decision. In June 2022, the conservative majority, bolstered by Trump's judicial appointments, overturned the nearly 50-year-old federal right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. This decision led to individual states setting their own laws on abortion access, with more than a dozen states banning abortion in all or most cases.
Biden condemned the Supreme Court ruling, and his administration, through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department, outlined guidelines to ensure access to emergency abortion care under federal law and defended the use of the abortion pill before the Supreme Court. The administration also pushed for expanded access to reproductive health services, such as contraception, through the Affordable Care Act.
In June, the Supreme Court rejected a case brought by anti-abortion advocates seeking to roll back the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, one of the medications used in the abortion pill regimen. However, the court dismissed on procedural grounds the administration's case arguing that Idaho's severe abortion ban conflicted with a federal law requiring medical providers to offer stabilizing emergency care, including abortions. In October, the court declined to hear a similar administration case about Texas' strict abortion ban.
While Biden, a devout Catholic, has been openly uncomfortable with abortion throughout his political career, mitigating the impacts of the dissolution of Roe v. Wade has become a cornerstone of his presidency. Democrats, in general, made abortion rights a central issue in the 2022 midterm elections. In March, Harris became the first sitting vice president or president to visit an abortion clinic.
On the economic front, Biden may be remembered as overseeing an economy that, despite its strength, was widely disliked. Since 2021, as the country emerged from a global pandemic that caused historic job losses and brought the economy to a near-standstill, employers have added nearly 16.5 million new jobs. The unemployment rate has averaged just 4.2%, including the longest stretch at 4% or below since the 1960s. Gross domestic product growth has averaged 3.2% per quarter, well above what most economists consider the U.S. economy's long-term potential. Incomes and wages have grown above trend, and collective U.S. household net worth has climbed to a record $163.8 trillion, thanks to a booming stock market and rising home values.
However, surveys conducted throughout most of Biden's term have shown that average Americans have not felt the benefits. This is largely due to the worst inflation breakout in a generation. As the economy reopened, a combination of tangled supply chains, worker shortages, and strong consumer demand, supported by approximately $5 trillion in government stimulus from both the Biden and Trump administrations, sent prices soaring. By the summer of 2022, the Consumer Price Index was rising by 9.1% year-over-year, and the widely followed University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index plummeted to a record low.
While inflation has since receded and sentiment has begun to recover, surveys show that Americans still feel the impact of lingering high prices, and they blame Biden and the Democrats for it.
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