Joe Biden’s legacy: Made Trump Great Again

A year before he was elected president, Joe Biden signalled to aides that he would serve only a single term, partly because he would be an 82-year-old running for re-election and he did not wish to be an eight-year roadblock to the next generation of Democrats.

But saving the US from a second coming of Donald Trump in 2020 gave Biden a saviour complex. He decided to stand a second term. And even when it became blatant to the world that his age had wearied him way beyond serious contention, a fumbling Democratic Party hierarchy failed to organise a successor and dared not tell their octogenarian president that he had stayed too long until it was too late.

Now Biden’s hubris has trashed his achievements. Tragically, Trump will be Biden’s real legacy.

Biden’s accomplishments were many: he oversaw a remarkable economic recovery, passed important climate change legislation, ushered in a new era of antitrust laws, and started the process of bringing manufacturing sectors back to the US. He also helped to keep Ukraine from being fully annexed by Russia.

It is difficult to predict the course of Trump’s new term, but none of Biden’s achievements are likely to survive another Trump era.

Biden brought the ignominy on himself. Amid mounting concerns about his age all year and with Trump charging hard on his seniority, the political impact of Biden’s arrogant refusal to step aside and give the Democrats a clear run to choose a successor became manifest with his seemingly senile performance against his Republican rival in a candidate’s debate in late June. Biden’s desperate hanging on short-circuited the possibility of staging a primary and left Vice President Kamala Harris as the only real choice to replace him after he announced he would drop out of the 2024 race for the White House in late July.

Harris’ campaign started strong and there were fine moments, especially when she shredded Trump in their only debate. She lifted during rallies, especially when speaking of the January 6 storming of the Capitol. But she then appeared to run out of puff and failed to develop an economic vision that resonated with enough Americans.

Biden remained a problem for Harris even when he quit the race. His fumbles and missteps on the stump were hugely destructive. His comment that Trump supporters were “garbage” in the last days of the campaign was reminiscent of Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” gaffe in 2016 and had Harris putting out fires. Harris was never able to get out from behind his shadow. She was not perfect, but Biden left her too little time to prove herself to American voters.