Joe Biden became one of the U.S. presidents with the worst public support in his first year in office. To what extent has it fulfilled its promises in domestic and foreign policy, economy and the fight against the epidemic in the last year? Bülent Aliriza from the Center for International and Strategic Studies (CSIS) evaluated Biden’s last year.
Bülent Alirıza said, “When history looks at Biden, I think his most important role will be as a president who started a different period after Trump and saved the USA from Trump, so to speak. They’re making a Jimmy Carter analogy. This analogy is the worst analogy for a president. Carter, elected after Nixon in 1976, lost the election to Ronald Reagan four years later. There are many signs that Biden will share the same fate if he re-enters the election. I guess the Democratic Party nominates another presidential nominee in three years, or Biden himself can pull out. However, if the republican party members took over the congress by then, it is very likely that they will be the favorites in the next election. I think Biden feels this, even if he doesn’t show it to the outside,” he said.
“Biden downplayed inflation”
Reminding that there is an approach in US politics that dates back to the Clinton era and the economy is paramount, Aliriza said that despite Biden’s best efforts, the American people were not satisfied with him in this respect.
“Both Biden himself, Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell, and Finance Minister Yellen downplayed inflation. It is a fact that they realized the rapidly rising inflation late. They are reacting to it now. This year, there will be 3, maybe even 4, rate hikes by the FED. Despite this, Ali Rıza said, “The perception here is negative,” and pointed out that perception is almost everything in politics.
Aliriza noted that in November 2022, the entire House of Representatives will be elected by one-third of the Senate, in the by-elections, that the Democrats are very likely to lose the House of Representatives, even losing both; “Democrats running with a weak president are failing the election. This frightens every Democrat member of Congress. “Republicans expect a majority on both wings,” he said.
Is America ready for every scenario in Ukraine?
According to Bülent Alirıza, Biden’s government did not give a good test in foreign policy with the process that started with Afghanistan in the last year. Aliriza said, “He did not make any changes in his team after the Afghanistan fiasco. It is also criticized for that. That foreign policy page is not a good page either. It is not possible to say how prepared the Biden administration is for a crisis that may come as a result of the crisis in Ukraine turning into a war in the coming period, for example, with China following a more aggressive policy towards Taiwan. commented.
What kind of year did Biden Turkey relations leave behind?
When Joe Biden took the oath of office, Turkey was experiencing one of the worst periods in the history of US relations, which hosted tensions such as the S-400 sanctions and its removal from the F-35 program. CSIS Turkey Program Director Bülent Aliriza evaluated the past year with Biden’s management with these words:
“The most important thing that has changed with Biden is that the top level direct contact is less than before. They spoke on the phone once. They met twice. It’s a positive factor. But it is possible to say that the negative atmosphere in the Congress has changed. Biden, like Trump, has no special effort to step in and fix him. Generally, the problem between Turkey and the USA is not caused by the administration. The Biden administration naturally wants to see Turkey by its side in the Ukraine crisis and other crises. He wants good relations with Turkey. But I have serious doubts about whether Biden, who could not influence the Congress on other issues, will be able to pressure the Congress to implement a more moderate policy for better relations with Turkey.”