by Edwin Quinabo
Joe Biden concluded his four years in the White House in his farewell address to warn about the path he sees the nation is following – one that erodes the institution he’s helped to build and shape during his 50 years in Washington as a senator, vice president and president.
Biden’s farewell address appealed to populism and diversity
Instead of branding his legacy and offering a laundry list of accomplishments, Biden used his final address to the nation to promote a populist message: “I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. And this is a dangerous concern. And that’s the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people,” Biden said. He warned of a burgeoning oligarchy in America and stressed the importance of holding the ultra-wealthy to the same expectations as the working- and middle-class citizens.
He added, “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”
Democratic allies see this populist message as classic Democratic Party pro working- and middle-class messaging. But Biden’s critics could claim that his opponent Donald Trump, the genius marketer he is, sold that populist messaging better than Biden to the American people in the last election.
Where Trump never bothered to feign support for was one of Biden’s other main areas of his farewell address: Biden welcoming immigrants and diversity. Biden opened his address by saying he has been thinking a lot about who the American people are, as he referenced the symbol of the Statue of Liberty.
Biden went on to describe the building of the Statue of Liberty in New York, a gift from France, saying that “like the very idea of America, it was built not by one person, but by many people, from every background and from around the world.”
He elaborates, “like America, the Statue of Liberty is not standing still. Her foot literally steps forward atop a broken chain of human bondage. She’s on the march, and she literally moves. She was built to sway back and forth, to withstand the fury of stormy weather, to stand the test of time. Because storms are always coming. She sways a few inches, but she never falls into the current below. An engineering marvel.”
Promoting America’s diversity as an American value is also classic Democratic Party messaging. But unlike economic populism, diversity was outright rejected by a large American sector or at least was overshadowed in the last election as anti-DEI, anti-wokeism ran deep throughout Trump’s cultural war campaign that swayed some at the margins.
History will reveal what Biden’s legacy is
An unpopular president leaving office with a high 57% public disapproval rating, Biden understood that his record of accomplishments will be assessed over time and that history could view him differently than the abysmal polls he is leaving the White House with.
“It will take time to feel the full impact of what we’ve done together. But the seeds are planted, and they’ll grow, and they’ll bloom for decades to come,” he said during his farewell address.
At this moment Americans’ short-term memory is that Biden was forced out of a second term run because of declining mental acuity. Some Democrats blame him for losing the last presidential election because he did not withdraw from the race sooner. Republicans have harsher assessments that Biden was terrible even before he started losing his train of thought more frequently.
But historians now and in the future will reevaluate Biden’s legacy years to come, placing his achievements and failures in a broader context. He secured major legislative accomplishments with a razor thin congressional majority in his first two years of the presidency – his supporters could point to. Some within his own party – not the politicians but grassroots Dems — could say it wasn’t sufficient especially when it came to clamping down inflation. Some will go as far as blaming Biden for breaking up the Democratic Party coalition because of his foreign wars interventions and his corporate coddling.
His Republican antagonists could minimize Biden’s legacy as the minor-league president sandwiched between their revered Trump. Then there are the mainline, mainstream majority Democrats who see Biden as one of the best Democrat presidents in the modern era, in a similar way they cast Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Biden’s policies that stand out
Beyond the headlines of this time, historians will likely assess Biden’s legislative record: his leading the nation in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (heavy investments in rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure), the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS) (re-industrializing the nation in semiconductor, manufacturing, research and development, and workforce), protecting Medicare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and giving government negotiating power to lower drug prices (a major legislative win that his Democratic predecessors failed to do or were too politically timid to attempt).
On the foreign policy end, historians will measure Biden’s role in his support for Ukraine in the proxy war against Russia, his support for Israel against Hamas that some call a genocide, his restoration of NATO unity and his billions of American tax dollars sent overseas to buttress all those policies mentioned to safeguard American interests abroad.
Biden, the president who led the nation out of the COVID-19 pandemic
Dr. Teresita Bernales, retired, U.S. Department of State, Kailua, said history may view Biden as a leader who stabilized the nation in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, but one whose efforts were complicated by the unpredictability of the crisis and the deepening political divides in the country.
Bernales who says she has no political affiliation said, “Biden focused on accelerating the distribution of vaccines, passing economic relief packages, and managing the response to public health needs. Most notable were: vaccine distribution whereby the Spring of 2021, millions of vaccine doses were administered. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue plan signed into law addressed direct stimulus payments to Americans, extended unemployment benefits and granted funding to state and local governments. It also included provisions for schools and businesses to reopen safely. His administration pushed for mask mandates and federal guidance on public health measures as well as providing support to state and local governments to help curb the spread of the virus. On economic recovery, the Biden administration focused on fiscal support and efforts to help businesses and workers who had been hit hardest by the pandemic. Biden’s leadership on the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was marked by strong initial actions in vaccine distribution and economic relief, and by attempts to unify the country under a science-based public health framework. However, ongoing challenges with political polarization, the emergence of new variants, and economic hurdles like inflation complicated his legacy.”
Jerry Cadiz, hotel worker, Aiea, a political independent, said he is thankful for Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Many hotel workers including myself was out of work during the height of the pandemic. Waikiki was a ghost town, and the hotels temporarily laid off employees. We were able to get unemployment benefits largely because of support from the federal government. I will also remember the much-needed assistance of the stimulus checks,” he said.
During Trump’s first presidency, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, in March 2020, most single adults received $1,200 in a stimulus check, $500 per child, and again during Trump’s term via the Consolidated Appropriations Act in December 2020, a $600 stimulus check, $600 per child. Under Biden through the American Rescue Plan Act, single adults received $1,400 in a stimulus check, $1,400 per child.
Martina Agunoy, Kalihi, Democrat, said “Remember – Biden had to lead the country out of the pandemic, restoring both the literal health of citizens and the pandemic’s economic impact.”
Government empowered to negotiate drug prices
Agunoy also mentions Biden’s historic victory along with Democrats in Congress to give the government the power to negotiate and lower drug prices, a feature long advocated by seniors’ groups like AARP. “Prescription drug prices affect most Americans. Former Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana long ago advocated using bargaining power to negotiate lower prices to make medicine affordable. Biden carried this through, and his $35 insulin cap and $35 inhaler cap helps about 1 in 10 Americans who have diabetes or asthma,” she said.
While Biden did use political muscle to strengthen Medicare and the ACA, he did not go as far as pushing for Medicare for All as some of his political opponents did in 2020. Agunoy said, “The U.S. is still the only developed country without universal healthcare, while our peer countries view this as a basic aspect of life. We don’t have free medical care like European countries and Canada do. Preserving affordable health insurance is important to maintain the economic and physical well-being of its citizens.”
Bernales said, “Biden pushed for the enhancements to Medicare, especially on prescription drug prices, something that had long been a point of contention. While Congress has yet to pass major drug pricing reforms, Biden’s position helped highlight the issue, and it was a focus of his broader healthcare agenda. One of his first actions in his presidency was to reverse the efforts of the Trump administration to dismantle ACA which included expanding subsidies for people buying insurance through the ACA marketplace, making health care more affordable for millions of Americans. Biden’s efforts to protect and expand Medicare and the ACA were fundamental in improving healthcare access and affordability during a time of crisis.”
Biden’s proxy wars and billions in costs – points of strong contention
Peace movements have long been supported by liberal elements within the Democratic Party, college students and the Libertarian Party. Add to these traditional groups, populist Trumpers in this last election specifically opposed Ukraine support against Russia. Beyond the political peace ideology, mainstream Americans hurled harsh criticism against Biden’s proxy wars because of both the billions in foreign aid and the overwhelming response by Israel in Gaza. At the same time, both establishment Democrats and Republicans have always held the position of war as an inevitable feature in safeguarding American interests abroad.
Among historians who will debate Biden’s legacy on this will also be mixed. Mainline historians of the West typically are ideological hawks who view wars that uphold western economic hegemony or democracy in sympathetic and heroic lenses. In this light, Biden will be praised by them. While some historians in the West and a majority of historians particularly in the global South will cast Biden’s proxy wars as western empire exerting its dominance as they’ve been doing for hundreds of years since European colonization of the global South.
Megan Villaflor, formerly of Pearl City, Oahu now living in New York City as a marketing specialist is a self-described progressive millennial Democrat. She said, “Biden will be remembered for hypocrisy. He defended Ukraine against Russia’s invasion but supported Israel’s occupation of Palestine. You cannot get more hypocritical than that. These proxy wars that the U.S. funded and provided military arms lifted the veil of U.S. empire and those willing to support it without moral consistency. Biden’s support of what essentially amounts to a genocide in Gaza will be a stain on his legacy much in the way that Bush W. killed a million Iraqis under false pretenses.
“Also, Biden put the world in unnecessary nuclear risk in the proxy war against a nuclear power in Russia. There was a peace deal on the table early on, but Biden and the neocons put it aside. Putin has consistently said he has no intention of expansion or to incorporate the former Soviet republics under Russia, but that Russia was drawing a red line against NATO encroachment into Russia’s borders. I understand well the geopolitics of western hegemony vs the rising powers of BRICS and the global South. I’m not naive. The older generations support dominance via wars as a necessary evil to promote a better, easier life in the West. But the younger generation want a new paradigm – one of cooperation, peace and shared prosperity. In this new age of new tech warfare, we have achieved a military stalemate among rival superpowers wherein the only alternative to exert dominance is by nuclear force. And that’s a dangerous gamble which puts all of humanity at risk.”
Agunoy has supported Biden’s foreign policy. “If Ukraine falls, Russia would be motivated to regain the countries that were previously part of the Soviet Union, moving war further west, to Poland, the Baltic nations (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia), Georgia (the country), and others. It is in the interest of the U.S. to help Europe preserve its safe borders from Russian invasion,” she said. “Biden strengthened the U.S. in the global sphere. In the Pacific Rim, Biden’s diplomacy forged an agreement between South Korea and Japan, two countries that have historical animosity, to jointly protect against China. In the Atlantic region, Biden solidified our alliances with NATO countries.”
On the need to spend billions in foreign aid, Bernales said, “The U.S. has long been committed to protecting its allies through defense spending, most notably through NATO. As the largest contributor to NATO’s defense budget, the U.S. spends billions on maintaining the security of Europe and other partner countries. This includes both direct military spending and investments in the defense of mutual interests, such as preventing Russian expansion in Europe or addressing regional conflicts that could destabilize alliances. U.S. foreign policy often justifies military expenditures in areas like the Middle East, East Asia, and Eastern Europe, where instability could have global implications. For example, the U.S. maintains military presence and influence in the Pacific to counter China’s growing power, as well as in the Middle East to secure oil supplies and counterbalance Iranian influence. U.S. military expenditures in foreign conflicts are sometimes justified by the desire to promote democracy, human rights, and the protection of vulnerable populations.”
Another mixbag, Biden’s legacy on immigration
Bernales said, “Biden’s handling of the immigration issue, particularly the failure to create a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, is likely to be a negative mark on his legacy. Despite the moral and policy arguments for providing legal status and a path to citizenship, political realities in Washington, D.C. — including deep partisan divides and a complex, polarized immigration debate — prevented him from making the substantial progress he promised.”
Agunoy blames Trump for the failure of comprehensive immigration reform. “Trump killed Biden’s comprehensive immigration reform. There were enough votes to pass the bill until Trump did not want Biden to get credit for it. Biden introduced the strictest immigration reforms in decades. But Trump wanted to run on creating fear about immigrants to get re-elected. So, Trump ordered Republicans in Congress to block the bill. Biden’s Border Security Bill, sponsored by GOP James Lankford of Oklahoma was set to do these things: (1) reduce the number of migrants who can claim asylum at the border; (2) increase the number of Customs & Border Protection officials and asylum officers and fund use of scanning technology at the border; (3) increase funds for immigration judges to cut the time for processing cases down to six months. The bill also provided thousands of work visas for U.S. citizens’ foreign spouses so they could work while waiting for their immigrant status to be processed.”
Villaflor agrees that Trump acted as a spoiler for political expediency on the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill. But she said the bill still did not have enough substance on legal immigration. “Most of the debates surrounding immigration reform is on stopping illegal immigration. I’d like to see more features that expedite the processing of legal immigration. Biden did a last-minute effort to pass immigration reform when it got close to the election, but he could have used executive orders like what Trump is doing now or attempt to pass immigration reform in his first two years when Democrats had a majority in Congress. At the same time, I realize back then that the pandemic superseded all urgencies.”
What Democrats should pursue in line with Biden’s legacy
Bernales said what she wants of Biden’s legacy to continue are his economic initiatives – job creation, infrastructure package and inflation reduction, as well as climate change policies that align with global environmental priorities and the party’s platform. What she wants to see more of is healthcare accessibility and voting rights protections.
Agunoy said she wants “securing the Social Security system and health insurance (Medicare for All is best), lowering the cost of prescription medications; options for caregiver/childcare; and strengthening workers’ wages and benefits. A healthy economy depends on people having a disposable income to circulate through the community and by having their parents and children take care of, so they go to work.
Villaflor said the Democratic Party must go back to being the party for working Americans. “Trump fooled Americans and many working Democrats with fake populism. Democrats cannot talk up being the party against big corporations and for working people, but in policy align themselves with corporate America. Young Democrats see this doubletalk and are disillusioned that we don’t have representation in the political arena. Simply put, we do not have opportunities like Gen X or certainly not those of Baby Boomers. If the Democrats want to win again, they need to stop looking like Republicans in disguise. It’s like we have one political party, the pro-big corporation party.”
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