Joe Biden is now the most dangerous man in America. He has nothing left to lose and no support remaining but that of America’s far Left. He and those acting in his name are no longer constrained by concern over legacy and have the expansive powers of the presidency at their disposal until Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20.
All he still has is the support of the furthest left in his party…. he has given them more than any administration in history.
Had it not been for his presidential aspirations, Joe Biden’s Senate career would have been memorable only in Delaware; his legacy would have been longevity. But presidential aspirations raised the legacy bar, even as Biden repeatedly failed to meet it.
His first two failed presidential runs were marred by plagiarism in 1988 and a gaffe of a slur of Obama in 2008. Still the second failure was somehow enough to allow him to fill the traditional role of vice president — being what the nominee is not — for Obama. For eight years he was more Obama’s comic foil than copilot.
His third failure at the presidential nomination followed in 2016, when Obama withheld his endorsement in favor of Hillary Clinton.
Not until 2020 was Biden finally able to break through to the nomination as a Left-heavy Democrat field split their support and allowed Biden in by the back door. It also revealed his presidential fate early on: the closer he got to the presidency, the less he was seen to measure up to it.
Biden won the presidency the same way he had the nomination: by backing into it. Despite a global pandemic, nationwide lockdowns, civil unrest, and his own absence from the public, he won the electoral college by virtue of 77,000 votes spread over four states.
Once in the White House, Biden continued to measure down. He rapidly racked up a legacy of failure across his presidency’s policy areas. (READ MORE from J.T. Young: Democrats Double Down on Elitism)
His foreign policy was feckless, emboldening America’s adversaries around the world. A humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan told every enemy all they needed to know. Iran secured sanctions relief and billions of dollars, which it used to fund proxy terrorism. Russia saw its chance in the Ukraine and unleashed Europe’s first war since WWII. China’s aggression spread throughout the region. Venezuela’s dictator overturned his country’s presidential election without consequence.
Fiscally, Biden ran up $7 trillion in deficits from FYs 2021-2024. Economically, Biden’s excessive spending helped fuel inflation to 40-year highs.
Biden’s DEI initiatives infected every aspect of his administration as they put quotas over qualifications. His extremist environmentalism subordinated America’s energy supply to ideology.
On law enforcement, he didn’t do what he was supposed to and did do what he wasn’t supposed to. Biden opened the door to illegal immigration, creating a crisis of historical proportions. The law enforcement authority he didn’t use to safeguard America and Americans, he turned on his political opponents, weaponizing it against them.
Biden’s legacy as presidential failure was clear even as his campaign for reelection got underway. It was then assured by his unprecedented removal from the Democrat ticket — seemingly an ultimate rebuke: not simply being rejected by the American people, but by his own partisans. Immediately, Biden was summarily forgotten; his legacy left at seeming presidential bottom.
Then came November 5’s Democratic blowout. Biden was blamed anew; again by his supporters but this this time for not exiting sooner. His presidential legacy fell further.
Then, Biden disappeared. More than two months before he was to leave office, he quit it. World leaders flocked to Trump; Biden didn’t go to Notre Dame. More legacy damage resulted.
The only reason America knew Biden was still president was that he pardoned his son. In doing so, he broke his promise to the American people. Biden’s legacy went lower still.
When it seemed Biden’s legacy couldn’t fall any lower, revelations about his prolonged deterioration came out. With them come legitimate questions as to how — and to what lengths — aides and family went about hiding his problems, further embarrassing details are certain to follow.
That an incapacitated president was allowed to stay in office for years is surely the greatest scandal in the history of the U.S. presidency. Again, Biden’s legacy found plumbed new depths.
By any objective measure, Biden has no presidential legacy left. It is no longer clear to what extent and for how long he was even president. Therein lies the danger of his presidency’s remaining days.
His legacy gone, there is also nothing left to lose. That realization, whether by Biden or his staff, means also that there is no brake on any actions he might take during his remaining weeks in office.
He cannot fall further in the public’s estimation. Look at his approval ratings. His overall rating is abysmal and his ratings on specific issues are frequently worse.
All he still has is the support of the furthest left in his party. They have supported him because he has given them more than any administration in history. They stuck by him when he sought reelection. They stood by him while the rest of his party pushed for his exit. And they alone still stand by him
Biden is playing to an audience of one. What can he still do to retain the backing of the far left?
Shoveling more money out the door? Doing it. Burrowing in partisans to undermine Trump? Doing it. Try once more to forgive student debt? Doing it. Just recently we saw his commutations of heinous criminals. (READ MORE: What the ‘Garbage Controversy’ Says About Democrats)
What comes next? Aiding state and local efforts in their fights to oppose Trump?
For over three years, America has watched as the Biden administration has repeatedly operated in seemingly senseless fashion. Now, over the next three weeks America must watch the remnants of Biden’s presidency as it exists without restraint, without concern about legacy, and without a sense of shame.
J.T. Young is the author of the new book, Unprecedented Assault: How Big Government Unleashed America’s Socialist Left, from RealClear Publishing. He has more than three decades’ experience working in Congress, the Department of Treasury, and OMB, and representing a Fortune 20 company.