Beijing, 20 Jan (Xinhua) -- US President Joseph Biden held a press conference in the East Hall of the White House on 19 January to commemorate his one-year reign. In 1 hour and 50 minutes, Biden talked about his "achievements" in many areas of domestic and foreign affairs, calling his first year of leadership in the United States "both a challenging year and a year of great progress."
However, in the eyes of the US media, a year after taking office, Biden's internal situation is "full of crises": the new crown epidemic continues to rage, public opinion support continues to decline, inflation rates rise and supply chains are blocked, the "rebuild a better future" plan and voting rights reform bill have been blocked by Republicans in Congress, and the Democratic Party's slight advantage in both houses is crumbling...
On December 29, 2021, people lined up at COVID-19 testing points on the streets of New York, USA, waiting for testing. With the recent acceleration of the spread of the mutated new coronavirus Omiljun strain in the United States, the number of new confirmed cases, deaths and hospitalizations of the new coronavirus in the United States has continued to surge. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Wang Ying)
In a lengthy opening remark, Biden first listed a series of data such as the new crown vaccination rate, employment rate, and child poverty rate in the United States, trying to prove the "great progress" he led the year.
However, in the face of the fact that the epidemic curve and the inflation curve in the United States are rising at the same time, he has to turn a corner: "Despite the above progress, I know that there are still many frustrations and fatigues flowing at home. ”
Biden acknowledged that the American people have endured "physical, emotional and psychological pressure" since the outbreak of the epidemic, but insisted on praising his anti-epidemic performance since taking office: "I did not say anything big. I probably did it better than anyone expected. ”
He believes that the United States "still has a bright future" and sees the continued anti-epidemic pressure as "work to be completed."
A man wearing a mask walks inside a mall in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Jan. 11. Due to the surge in new confirmed covid-19 cases, the City of New Orleans announced the reinstatement of the indoor "mask order" from January 12, requiring people to wear masks when they are in indoor public places. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Wei Lan)
The Associated Press believes Biden is overstating. The report pointed out that Biden said something "big" about the fight against the epidemic a month before the November 2020 presidential election: "I will ban the (new crown) virus, not the country." ”
To this day, the virus is obviously not "banned" in the United States, but is still spreading rapidly. Health experts are now optimistic that COVID-19 could become a "manageable risk", rather than disappear entirely.
When it comes to specific epidemic prevention measures, Biden believes that schools should remain open when the government has provided funds and epidemic prevention materials to school districts. With the ferocious momentum of the epidemic and the large number of teachers and students absent from work, whether the campus should be closed again and switched to online classes is becoming a thorny issue that divides American society and becomes increasingly political.
The Associated Press believes that although the supply of vaccines in the United States is sufficient, the government's performance in promoting new coronavirus testing has generally received bad reviews.
On January 13, health care workers sampled testers at a COVID-19 testing site in Washington, D.C., usa. The new prediction results released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 12th show that the number of new coronavirus deaths in the United States will continue to increase in the next 4 weeks, and more than 62,000 people may die of the new crown. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Shen Ting)
Biden eunesically acknowledged that the federal government has been slow to move forward with COVID-19 testing. "Should we have done more testing earlier?" yes. But we've improved now. ”
To make up for it, the White House announced on the same day that it would distribute 400 million N95 masks free of charge to people at pharmacies and clinics across the United States starting next week. A website for people to book a free COVID-19 rapid test tool for home checks has been launched.
However, whether to get vaccinated or not to wear a mask is still a sensitive issue that makes American politicians and different social groups quarrel endlessly.
Statistics from Johns Hopkins University show that the United States reported more than 1.06 million new confirmed cases in 24 hours on the 19th, with a cumulative total of 67.59 million confirmed cases; 1896 new deaths, with a cumulative death of nearly 854,000 cases – far more than the rest of the world.
U.S. President Joe Biden, center, signs the Infrastructure Investment Act at the White House in Washington, D.C., on November 15, 2021. Economists argue that the bill is not enough to fill the huge infrastructure financing gap in the United States and has a limited pull on economic growth. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Shen Ting)
Another of Biden's boastful points is that "6 million new jobs are created a year, more than in any previous year." According to the Associated Press, this is mainly due to the economic potential accumulated by the increase of more than 100 million people in the United States population over the past 40 years.
The 6.4 million jobs added last year was indeed the highest year-on-year increase since 1939, but it builds on the "worst loss in history" of 9.4 million jobs lost in 2020.
To help the U.S. economy recover from the pandemic, the Biden administration launched a $1.2 trillion infrastructure investment and financial aid program. Some economists see it as promising growth and employment, but others see it as fueling domestic demand while also overwhelming supply chains disrupted by the pandemic and sending inflation soaring from 1.7 percent when Biden took office to 7 percent today, its highest level in 40 years.
Biden admitted: "Now, we need to keep inflation under control. ”
A customer buys food at a Target store in New York, U.S., on Jan. 12. The U.S. Department of Labor showed that the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.5 percent month-on-month and 7 percent year-on-year in December, the biggest year-over-year increase since June 1982, underscoring rising inflationary pressures in the United States. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Wang Ying)
Biden and democrats' highly valued "rebuilding a better future" plan was blocked in the Senate. Biden said on the 19th that he intends to split the package into several small projects and submit them to Congress for consideration to ensure that at least some of the projects receive sufficient support as soon as possible, which means "sacrificing" social security programs such as community colleges. In his opinion, "how much can be taken, and then go back and fight for others."
Biden is also poised to use the same strategy on two voting rights reform packages stuck in the Senate. That's at stake in whether democrats can retain the support of minority voter groups so as not to lose their narrow advantage in both houses of state and senate in the November midterm elections.
U.S. President Joe Biden leaves after speaking at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Greg Nash)
A poll released by NBS in late December showed Biden's approval rating at just 41 percent, the lowest level since taking office; "worse," he scored only 29 percent of independent voters. The performance of controlling the epidemic and inflation are the two "pain points" that disappoint voters.
A recent reuters-Ipsos joint poll showed biden's approval rating among white voters, suburban voters and college-age voters ranging from 41 to 45 percent, the lowest level since he took office, while the percentage of those seen as "swing voters" who did not approve of his achievements rose to more than 50 percent. In two gubernatorial elections last November, some of these groups "defected" to support the Republican candidate.
Despite the crisis, Biden expressed a firm belief that most Americans were on his side.
"I don't believe the polls." He said. (Shen Min)
Source: Xinhua News Agency