Biden's America

(That Trump Inherits)

“We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.”

~ Donald Trump

Yesterday, the 47th president, Donald J. Trump, delivered an inauguration speech that echoed his pledge to restore America’s greatness.

But as I listened to his words, I couldn’t help but think how steep the road ahead will be—thanks to the mess Biden is leaving behind.

Now, if I had to sum up Biden’s America in one image, it would probably be this. No, these aren’t L.A. flames, even if they may look that way—it’s the entire country, consumed by the chaos Biden has created (while he stands in the foreground, probably congratulating himself on a job well done).

Or this, for a bit more nuance… If you want a closer look at Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s Transportation Secretary, fake breastfeeding his baby, just click to enlarge.

Beyond the visuals, I think Jesse Watters from Fox nailed it with his take on Biden’s America. Take a listen.

Here’s the gist of what he said, if you’d rather read:

I’ll give you a non-biased legacy assessment of Joe Biden. This is what history will remember him for: COVID got him in office, he was the oldest president of all time, the Afghanistan withdrawal, Ukraine, illegal immigration, inflation, industrial policy, lawfare, coup, and pardon.

This wasn’t the roaring 20s. Under Joe Biden, we saw all-time highs in suicides, homelessness, and drug overdoses. The only bright spots were the stock market and Bitcoin. But for most of the country, the American Dream was out of reach.

That’s about right. And yes, Bitcoin and the S&P 500 did quite well under Biden—up 200% and 56%, respectively. The American Dream? Not so much.

Let me break it down for you, dear reader, so you know I’m backing this up with facts. Since Biden took office in 2021:

• We experienced the highest inflation levels in four decades. Even though inflation dropped from its 40-year high of 9.1%, it still averaged a troubling 5.4% each year while Biden was in office.

• Big-ticket spending bills like the ironically named Inflation Reduction Act made things worse, driving millions of Americans into poverty.

• Gas prices are now 50% higher than they were when Biden took office.

• The median national home price is now $416,700—up by more than $106,000 since 2020.

• Government spending skyrocketed, pushing the national debt over $36 trillion—an $8.2 trillion surge under Biden, now more than 125% of GDP.

• Interest payments on that debt are now over $1 trillion, more than we spend on defense, education, and transportation put together.

• Consumer debt skyrocketed as well. Credit card balances hit a record-breaking $1.17 trillion in Q3 2024—the highest since records began in 1947.

• Credit card loan defaults recently reached their highest level in 14 years.

• Monthly crossings at the southern border exploded to over 250,000, compared to an average of fewer than 60,000 per month during most of Trump’s first term.

• Roughly 10 million illegal aliens entered the country under Biden’s watch.

• More jobs were added, yes, but a lion’s share of them—roughly three-quarters—went to foreign-born workers.

• Homelessness is at record highs, with Democratic-led cities looking like makeshift refugee camps.

That’s the America Sleepy Joe handed over to Trump. And mind you, this list barely scratches the surface—it’s just the most obvious stuff.

Now, yesterday, on his first day back in office, Trump took aim at some of these problems by unleashing a slew of executive orders. Some will go through without a hitch, others will almost certainly end up in court, and a few are largely symbolic. Either way, Trump’s immediate push to break from Biden’s nonsense is commendable.

But let’s not kid ourselves—fixing the damage already done (like what’s in the list above) will be slow, painful, and, in some cases, like the national debt, simply not possible.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t set out to write about Biden’s legacy—that’s in the past—but rather about the dire state of America he’s left behind. But if I had to sum it up in one word, it would be corruption.

In case it’s not absolutely obvious, let me explain why I say that.

As you know, the Constitution grants the President broad authority to issue reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States. And Biden, ever the merciful soul, made full use of that power. Just take a look at the chart below.

Now, when you’re that big on clemency, you can’t really be blamed for occasionally extending it to the members of your own immediate family.

Yes, I’m talking about Hunter Biden—a notorious scandal magnet, infamous for his cocaine-fueled parties, shady deals, influence peddling, and, of course, the laptop—who was facing firearm charges.

Biden pardoned him just weeks after the election, claiming he’d “watched [his] son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” Biden even claimed that “no reasonable person” could see this as anything but a politically motivated case. All this, despite previously promising to respect the jury’s decision and the fact that Hunter was prosecuted by his own Justice Department.

But Biden didn’t stop there. In his last hours in office, he issued preemptive pardons for unsavory figures like General Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney, and others.

If you didn't know, a preemptive pardon is granted before charges are even filed—it’s essentially a real-life “Get Out of Jail Free” card. In other words, a preemptive pardon is, in effect, an admission of guilt.

You’d have to be completely brain-fried to look at something like this and see it as anything other than undeniable evidence that corruption has defined Biden’s presidency. And that, along with inflation, unchecked immigration, and overall mismanagement, is his legacy.

Regards,

Lau Vegys