The New York Times columnist Bret Stephens called out four deceptions and four illusions of President Biden’s tenure in an op-ed published Wednesday that “would not serve his legacy well.”
Illusions Stephens included Biden’s claim that the wave of migration in 2021 was “seasonal”, his view that it is “highly unlikely” that the Taliban will take control of Afghanistan, his claim that inflation is only temporary, and finally, “that he is the best Democratic candidate that it was possible to defeat Donald Trump.”
Biden will leave the White House on January 20 when President-elect Donald Trump will be officially inaugurated. The president said USA Today’s Susan Page that he still thinks he could have beaten Trump if he had stayed in the race.
“That last illusion was sheer hubris,” Stephens wrote. “But there was arrogance in the first three, as he was loudly warned (including me) at every point that he was making a fundamental mistake.”
New York Times columnist Bret Stephens said President Joe Biden’s legacy will be tarnished after a term full of deception and illusion. (AP/Evan Vucci)
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“The White House spent months in 2021 refusing to use the term ‘crisis’ for the border — instead, it was a ‘challenge.’ Pentagon officials have warned the president that the Afghan government will soon collapse if the United States withdraws. Larry Summers was open on the inflationary risks of Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package. Biden ignored that too,” Stephens wrote.
Stephens has historically been conservative, but he was staunchly anti-Trump and endorsed Biden in 2020. He included the president’s claim in the 2020 campaign that he would be a transition president and his promise to be a “bipartisan and moderate person in the White House” on the list of frauds.
“He, along with his entire administration, has insisted that he is mentally and physically ready to serve a second term. And he has promised not to pardon his son Hunter if he is convicted of crimes,” the columnist added, highlighting two other deceptions.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Biden will leave office on January 20, and his legacy is in question after serving a tumultuous term. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
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Stephens said Biden did not have a positive approval rating after withdrawing from Afghanistan and that his early missteps doomed his presidency.
“His reluctant decision in July not to run came too late to qualify as statesmanlike wisdom,” Stephens wrote.
Members of the media and Democrats hailed Biden as a hero after dropping out of the race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
Stephens said Biden’s late decision to withdraw from re-election, along with the “missteps” he made early in his tenure — such as withdrawing from Afghanistan — ensures that history “will not be kind to his legacy.” (CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP via Getty Images)
“And Hunter? A father’s love is admirable. A president’s lie is not. In one of his last major political moves in office, Joe Biden has forgotten who he is. But it seems like it happened years ago. History will not be kind, Stephens concluded, giving his son absolution.
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The columnist also said the cover-up of Biden’s health by people closest to him warrants a congressional investigation.
