On January 20th, 2021, Joe Biden was officially inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. He has received praise from many for ousting Donald Trump, a xenophobe, racist, conspiracy theorist, and pathological liar, from the White House. I am inclined to agree with that sentiment. I am grateful that the Biden campaign has toppled an administration that has ruined so many lives. However, many continue to praise Biden as a savior who will end institutional racism, end xenophobia, save lives, and bring about radical change that this country so desperately needs. I refuse to praise Joe Biden for anything considering his track record, lackluster cabinet choices and the fact that he hasn’t even been president for a month yet.
Throughout the election, avid Democrats (and even a few Republicans) prayed and hoped that 2020 would not be a repeat of 2016. After four sleepless nights, almost every major news outlet called the election for Joe Biden. The fireworks went up and the balloons were released. Democrats took to the streets and celebrated the victory. What victory? Yes, many lives are going to change as a result of the end to the Trump administration, but there are so many that won’t. Diabetes patients will still be struggling to afford insulin. Children in the Middle East will continue to fear for their lives everyday as America continues to bomb their homeland. Millions every day will continue to die from lack of healthcare, assistance, and food. Those are just the tip of the iceberg.
Joe Biden’s track record alone causes worries about his term as president. Joe Biden, although he has shifted further left in recent months, has always been a moderate. Moderates don’t save lives; they’re just a friendly face for the public. Joe Biden oversaw the disastrous Antilla Hill hearings in 1994 which put a potential sexual predator, Clarence Thomas, on the Supreme Court where he is still a justice to this day. Joe Biden sponsored the 1994 Crime Bill which increased incarceration rates by 400 percent and placed an emphasis on punishment, an archaic and ineffective way of preventing recidivism. When asked about his role, Biden said, “I am not ashamed for [the Crime Bill] at all. As a matter of fact, I drafted it.” Joe Biden voted to overturn Glass-Steagall, a piece of legislation put in place after the Depression to protect investors and limit big banks, which is continuing to help Wall Street to this day. He was said to have played a big role in the airstrikes carried out by the Obama administration which killed upwards of 3,000 people. Joe Biden was also in favor of school segregation in the 1970s, something he has not apologized for yet.
If you choose to put his past aside, then I present you with his cabinet picks. Biden’s pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, might seem like a good choice on the surface. However, Anthony Blinken is an avid supporter of US intervention and US backed regime change in foreign countries. These regime changes aren’t meant to stabilize developing countries but are instead meant to depose leftist leaders and push American capitalist propaganda. Biden’s pick for Director of Office Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, holds similar views regarding foreign policy. Biden’s choice for secretary of agriculture, Tom Vilsack, has consistently defended big beef conglomerates and continues to push the claim that agriculture is not a primary contributor to climate change when the EPA says that agriculture is the second-largest contributor to US greenhouse gas emissions. Joe Biden also chose to have Brian Deese and Adewale Adeyemo, two former BlackRock executives, in his cabinet. Appointing two Wall Street chief executives shows that Joe Biden is ready to pander to the 1 percent at the risk of the working class. Joe Biden’s cabinet picks show that he has no sympathy for children in the middle east, a rudimentary understanding of the causes of climate change, and no intention of mitigating the wealth gap. On the bright side, unlike Trump’s cabinet picks, Biden’s picks have not been accused of corruption or other illegal activities.
Lastly, let’s examine what Joe Biden has vowed to accomplish. Joe Biden has explicitly said, “I do not support defunding the police,” and has even vowed to double federal spending to community police programs. Not only are police consistently biased against black Americans, but there is strong evidence that increased police presence actually increases crime rates. Biden has also publicly supported any legislation similar to the Patriot Act, a law that allowed the government to spy on American citizens for “anti-terrorism purposes.” Biden does not endorse Medicare For All ensuring that people will continue to drown in medical debt. Additionally, he has not voiced support for price constraints on the pharmaceutical industry, meaning that diabetes patients will continue to struggle each month just to stay alive. While he has vowed to raise corporate tax rates by 7 percent, Biden currently has no plan to address common tax loopholes.
As grateful as we should be about removing an administration that has been complicit with white supremacy, promoted sexism, ruined lives, and literally killed people, we should not expect a brand new America. From what we know so far, we should continue to expect an America where entire demographics are neglected and class differences are more apparent than ever before. Joe Biden deserves no praise from anyone until everybody feels safe and equal in this country. While it is possible that this administration eventually addresses all the issues I have laid out, until then, no one should give Joe Biden undeserved applause.