It feels like yesterday: when the first Vice President Kamala Harris (56) swore her oath, the black poet Amanda Gorman (23) raptured the world – and Joe Biden (78) became the most powerful man in the world. In fact, the symbolic inauguration of the US President – to which all predecessors except Jimmy Carter (96, for reasons of age) and Donald Trump (74, for reasons of defiance) – was 100 days ago on Thursday.
“Feels like coming home,” commented Biden on moving into the White House with Mrs. Jill (69). And that’s how he acted. On the same day he rejoined the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Climate Agreement after the US left under his predecessor Trump.
What has happened since then?
No president has ever been as well prepared as the political veteran. On the very first day of office, Biden signed 19 implementing ordinances, proclamations and guidelines.
Because the thin Congress majority is already at risk in the 2022 mid-term elections, Biden hurries: He put together the most experienced and diverse cabinet of all time made up of women, blacks, gays and indigenous peoples, brought the second largest aid package in US history through Congress and took a position against it Human rights violations in Russia and China.
Two things disrupted his carefully planned agenda: tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors arrived at the Mexican border, and a total of 18 people died in rampages in Atlanta and a supermarket in Colorado.
While the fight against Corona was in full swing, with the refugee crisis and gun control, of all things, two old battles against windmills suddenly had top priority again.
What did he accomplish?
Biden’s record is impressive. Of the 61 promises he made for his first 100 days in office, he has already fully fulfilled 25, 33 are in progress – for many things he is dependent on Congress.
Its corona management is particularly successful. Biden expanded test centers, vaccine production and distribution. He managed to distribute 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days of office on March 18.
But what matters to Biden is how the Americans get out of the pandemic. According to experts, his $ 1.9 trillion aid package could cut child poverty in half. He just raised the minimum wage for government contractors from $ 11 to $ 15 an hour. An infrastructure package worth 2 trillion US dollars is in the starting blocks and is considered to be a decisive remedy for the climate crisis.
Trump’s construction of the wall has stopped Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris is now supposed to tackle the border crisis together with the refugees’ countries of origin.
In terms of foreign policy, Biden strengthened old alliances, showed a presence in the South China Sea, called Putin a “murderer” and coordinated the international withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. All of this is well received: Biden’s approval ratings are currently 52 to 54 percent – 10 percent higher than Trump’s four years ago.
Where is he not getting on?
It resists the same issues as it did under Obama. Partly it is Biden’s own fault.
At his first press conference at the end of March, Biden reacted thinly to questions about the accommodations on the border or when journalists were allowed to get an idea of the situation. Neither he nor Harris have visited the border yet.
And the anti-arms fight is stuck in Congress. After all, the powerful gun lobby NRA is nervous: Just announced a two million dollar campaign against Biden’s plans.
In all reform plans, Biden’s greatest obstacle remains the necessary two-thirds majority (“filibuster”) in the Senate. So far, he has not succeeded in reconciling the political camps. He also had to get his Corona aid package through Congress without the Republicans.
American society is still massively divided 100 days after Biden took office. Not only Trump fans across the country testify to this, but also Biden’s popularity ratings: Although he is more popular than Trump ever was – apart from his direct predecessor, no US president had ever had less approval at this point in time.