50 years of a career goes further than a meme
The true tragedy of Joe Biden is that the first sentence the history books will say about him is that he retired: on July 21, 2024, he bowed to the demands of his age, his party, and common sense by announcing that he was renouncing his candidacy for reelection. An unusual move for any president, but especially for him, because, even if it was for the most correct reasons, it is sad that Biden will go down in history as a man known for surrendering. If there is one thing Joe Biden has done in life, it is not to give up.
Before he became a joke, starring in memes and parodies, Joe Biden was one of the youngest senators in American history. At only 30 years old, he overcame the death of his wife and daughter in an accident, leaving him alone with two very young children who were seriously injured. Decades later he had to bury one of them, who had died of cancer, and support the other while he tried to quit drugs and it caused all the political problems in the world. And he came out of it all.
Politically, his story is also one of long-distance running. He first ran for president in 1988 and had to resign in disgrace when it was discovered that he had copied phrases from other politicians’ speeches. He tried again in 2008 and it was a disaster again, but his arrogance did not prevent him from running as vice president with Barack Obama, a man 20 years younger than him, who defeated him. In 2016, when it was “his turn” to replace him as president, he decided to clear the way for Hillary Clinton.
When he ran for the Democratic primary in 2020, no one had much faith in his chances: the party’s young, left-wing wanted Bernie Sanders and billionaire Mike Bloomberg to have all the resources in the world to win, but Biden surprised everyone. His calm and centrist speech was enough for millions of Americans who wanted to turn the page on Donald Trump’s presidency and return to some semblance of normality in the White House. He won widely, despite his opponent’s insults.
Biden took power under the worst possible circumstances: with a country more divided than ever after his rival unlawfully promoted a violent takeover of Congress to stay in office, but also with an economy devastated by COVID-19. The results speak for themselves: he received unemployment at 6.7% and left at 4.1%, he inherited a GDP that had dropped 2.2% during 2020 and leaves solid growth, always above 1, 9% annually.
Beyond its objective successes, its greatest achievement is making true the great promise of four years ago: a return to normality. There were no insults, threats, midnight tweets with him… He has been a boring, predictable president, a president from another era. A president perhaps for 1988, the year of his first attempt, but not so much for today. A president who has tried again to appeal to his best voters and their collective interests, not to their worst fears and phobias.
Biden presented himself as the anti-Trump and that is how he has governed, although his strength failed halfway. He has been one of the most relevant legislators of the 20th and 21st centuries in the United States, he has defined the judicial and foreign policy of the first power – the latter marked by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza – and he also wrote a final chapter of his biography. Returning to retirement to defeat a despot considered by many to be invincible. Although what we are seeing today are memes, jokes, mockery, a late and almost imposed return, disorientation … The truth is that the president has surrendered only once and due to the same circumstances he was forced to do the opposite just four years ago: to defeat Trump.