Joe Biden's State of the Union address featured a country that many did not recognize as their own. Far from even the slightest self-deprication, the president stuck out his chest for having saved the US economy from disaster and denied his responsibility in the call effect that has overflowed national borders, creating an unprecedented immigration crisis. With fentanyl running through the streets, with criminal gangs imposing their law in many of the big cities, the leader of the Executive also boasted of having limited crime. Statements that contrast notably with the feelings of Americans... and with reality itself.
My full closing remarks at the State of the Union. pic.twitter.com/Fd85CxUPl9
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 8, 2024
Economy
"I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is the envy of the world." With these words, Biden proclaimed himself the savior of the United States and even the entire world. However, the collapse he was referring to occurred as a consequence of the global shutdown of economic activity caused by the Covid pandemic. In reality, the US economy was already taking off before he entered the White House, as demonstrated by the economic growth rate of the last two quarters of 2020: the third quarter reflected growth of more than 30%, as a consequence of the resumption of activities, and the last one closed with 4.3%.
Unemployment
Biden boasted of his numbers in creating new jobs, as well as having reduced the number of unemployed since his arrival at the White House. However, the president omits the detail that unemployment reached its highest historical level of 14.8% in April 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. In fact, up to that point, Trump had reduced the number of people without jobs from the 4.8% he received from Barack Obama in January 2016 to 3.5% in February 2020, just before the coronavirus explosion. In fact, between April and December, the Republican Administration had already reduced the percentage to 6.4%.
Deficit and debt
The president boasted of having cut a trillion in deficit during his term. Although it is true that this has been reduced compared to his first year in the White House, it is mainly due to the withdrawal of stimuli launched during the covid pandemic. Money of which hundreds of millions of dollars remain unjustified or have disappeared, according to the Inspector General. The increase in revenue has also played a role. Fiscal year 2023 closed, however, with the highest budget deficit since the pandemic (3.13 trillion-in 2020), breaking two consecutive years of reduction and approaching 1.7 trillion (trillion) dollars.
The manipulation of this data for their benefit led the Washington Post itself to grant three Pinocchios to the President: "Biden cites actual deficit reduction numbers, but does so in a way that misleads listeners. The President leaves out important context. The budget deficit was supposed to shrink aas the massive spending caused by the pandemic disappeared."
In addition, the Congressional Budget Office predicts that both the deficit and debt will skyrocket over the next decade to levels never recorded in the country. Specifically, their analysis indicates that it will reach 2.6 trillion dollars by 2034 (6.1% of GDP). Figures that were only seen during the Great Depression, the end of World War II, the 2007-2009 financial crisis and the pandemic. As for the debt, it will reach a record of 116% of GDP within 10 years, "and will continue to grow if current legislation is not modified," according to the independent agency.
In fact, the majority of Americans criticize Biden's economic management in survey after survey, and list the economy among their major concerns. In fact, a recent CBS poll indicated that voters long for the state of their pockets with Trump while disapproving of Biden.
Border crisis
Biden refused to take responsibility that his immigration policy which has led to in the "invasion" of undocumented immigrants living at the nations borders. He even accused Republicans and Trump of rejecting a bipartisan Senate bill with "the toughest set of border security reforms we've ever seen." However, experts have reminded the president on several occasions that he has sufficient legislative capacity to take measures to mitigate the situation.
Far from doing so, he continues to make excuses for the existing fracture between the two major parties in both chambers and continues with the "catch and release" policy that has marked the entire legislature. Something that Democratic voters themselves recognize is producing a call effect that is reflected in the record of undocumented entries that each year of his mandate has been breaking. In fact, since his arrival at the White House there have been more meetings than during the Trump and Barack Obama administrations combined, and one could even add half of George W. Bush's.
Crime
Beyond the fixation of the president and his party colleagues to pass laws to limit weapons, crime figures and insecurity continue to skyrocket in large cities, especially in those governed by Democrats who advocate defunding the police or opt for soft policies against criminals.
