Has President Joe Biden Kept His Promises? A Review of His 100 Days in Office

The 46^th president was sworn in on January 20, days after Mr. Donald Trump’s second impeachment and Capitol attack. He also took his oath of office when America was struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic.

One hundred days after, the nation has witnessed different changes initiated by his administration. During this period, his essential actions help Americans understand his strategy for the remainder of his term in office.

What has Mr. Joe Biden done in his first 100 days as your president, and what should you expect going forward? Continue reading for more insight.

How Has Mr.Biden Used His First 100 Days in Office?

The 46^th president began his journey by ending his predecessor’s policies and halting the construction of the border wall. While he retained some of Mr. Trump’s changes, such as the low cap on refugees and asylum limits at the border between America and Mexico, he ended some policies like the extensive green card restrictions.

At the beginning of his presidency, Mr. Biden helped to change the Covid-19 pandemic course as well as support the nation’s recovery by signing the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law. The aim was to offer citizens rounds of stimulus checks, support the unemployed, small businesses as well as provide money to schools for the safe reopening of in-person learning.

His efforts have paid off because, so far, more than 200 million vaccine shots have been administered. The success is caused by the increased vaccine supply by Moderna and Pfizer. However, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) temporarily halted the Johnson and Johnson vaccine supply.

Further, he recently opened coronavirus shots to individuals above 16 years, and now fully vaccinated Americans can step outside their houses without masks.

The American Rescue Plan raised the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, there is massive infrastructure investment, expanded food assistance, continued the federal student loan payments and interest charges suspension and immigration reform. In the 100 days, President Joe Biden has issued more executive orders compared to Mr. Trump, Mr. Obama, and Mr. Clinton.

President Joe Biden’s Unfulfilled Campaign Promises

Looking at his presidential campaigns, Mr. Biden is yet to fulfill most of them. These include;

• Halting the for-profit immigration detention.
• Rescinding previous administration’s rules that disqualified gang and domestic violence victims from the asylum.
• President Joe Biden has not managed to restore unity and bipartisanship. This was seen when no Senate Republican supported the Covid Bill.
• He opted to push legislation in Congress rather than create a policing commission that he promised to establish in his first 100 days in office.

Why Has He Failed to Fulfill His Campaign Promises?

The administration is occupied with immigration issues, especially at the southern border, where there is an increased arrival of unaccompanied children.

On top of these immigration problems, the Republicans’ political attacks are directed to how Mr. Joe Biden’s administration is handling them. In fact, Republican attorneys general has already challenged his administration’s immigration policies, and a federal judge temporally paused the 100-day moratorium of deportations of immigrants living in the U.S for 14 days. Ken Paxton, a Republican attorney general from Texas, argues that the deportation freeze is a violation of a legal agreement and immigration law initiated by the former administration.

The nation is highly polarized and still facing significant challenges. For instance, racial relations, although it’s seen as improving, is still a major issue. The recent verdict that found Derek Chauvin, a former police officer guilty of the murder of George Floyd, has received significant approval from age, racial and partisan groups.

White Americans and white Democrats have also approved the verdict, while white Republicans are more divided. President Biden has termed the verdict a step forward which has given his presidency a 60% approval rating for the way his administration has handled the Chauvin trial and George Floyd’s death.

The Black Lives Matter Movement has received huge approval from a majority of Americans, especially the younger people and Democrats. Black Americans are beginning to view their local police positively while the Whites believe they are doing a good job in their community.

His presidency seems to receive reasonably strong approval ratings due to his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the reasons for such ratings are:

• In his 100 days, Mr. Biden has handed the pandemic and vaccine rollout properly. His administration reached the goal of 100 million shot 40 days ahead of his 100 days target and 200 million on April 21.
• Most Americans give the nod to his foreign policy and the removal of American troops from Afghanistan.
• So far, his legislative pieces mentioned above are popular.
• The recent stimulus package is considered helpful not only to the economy but to the infrastructure too. Thus majority backs the spending on bridges, roads, and broadband.
• President Joe Biden conducts press briefings with seasoned experts and cabinets in attendance in place of tweets that his predecessor used to communicate.

Actually, most Americans describe him as competent, focused, and presidential compared to Mr. Donald Trump.

In summary, President Biden has managed to avoid some of his predecessors’ mistakes and stumbles during his first 100 days in office. He took office during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic that created economic crises in addition to a national upheaval caused by racism as well as climate change issues. The 46^th president is dealing with several issues pertaining to refugee admissions to the country.

Thus although the unemployment is falling, schools will open for in-person learning, and fully-vaccinated Americans can engage in some outdoor activities without wearing masks. These new developments will return the country to a semblance of normalcy.

Indeed, the majority of Americans believe Mr. Joe Biden has delivered most of his promises. He is on his way to returning the presidency to what it was prior to Mr. Donald Trump’s administration. President Biden prefers daily press briefings instead of tweets which have earned him and his administration positive ratings.