Biden Faces Challenge to Strike Balance at Home and Abroad
By Space Coast Daily // March 18, 2022
Joe Biden has faced a challenging set of circumstances as he enters the second year of his presidency. His administration is dealing with a host of issues both home and abroad that will bring his leadership and diplomacy skills to the fore. The American people will be watching with anticipation to see whether their President rises to the occasion to bring stability to both the globe and the financial markets.
Those are the stakes for Biden and his administration, but it comes off the back of four years of Donald Trump’s presidency when the policy of the government was well and truly America first. Therefore, there is a difficult balance to strike for Biden, and he will be all too aware of the commentary of his predecessor from the sidelines.
Trump has not given up on his political career, and will be determined to press home any perceived weakness in the policies of Biden both home and abroad. Trump’s political betting odds are now +333 to be next President of the United States, and it would be a remarkable turnaround for the 75-year-old, whose aspirations appeared to have ended following his defeat in the 2020 Election.
Trump’s following from his base remains strong and his recent rally in South Carolina was well attended, but whether he can sustain that over the next two years remains to be seen. The Republican party appear to be in two minds whether to pursue his nature of politics for another run at the White House. It was a recipe for success in 2016, but there was a backlash four years later, securing Biden the presidency.
Middle America the key
As ever, the important battle will be for middle America rather than the loyalist factions of both the Republican and Democrat parties. We will learn whether Biden’s policies are reaching out to those states in the mid-term elections in November 2022. At the moment, there is a fine balance between control of the House of Representatives and Congress, and the slightest change in those mid-term elections could define the second half of the Biden administration.
The 79-year-old will not want his policies to be disrupted, which plagued Barack Obama’s second term in office. Although Obama won two elections, the Democrats’ inability to control the House of Representatives and Congress prevented the 44th President from bringing in a number of his preferred concepts.
If this is the case Trump will delight in the situation and take aim at the perceived weakness of the Biden presidency, especially if issues continue to persist at home regarding gas prices and the economy. On the other hand, if the Democrats and Biden win or hold their ground, then they have a lot more power to speak to voters in the swing states and implement their strategy at remaining in power.
There are a lot of elements that are outside the control of the President, a large portion of which are no fault of his own. Trump is not an opponent such as Mitt Romney or John McCain, who Obama brushed aside in his two election wins. The 75-year-old is dogged and is not afraid to take politics into the trenches as was evident in their debates in the 2020 Election.
If Biden remains in control of the narrative and can be seen to being able to push through his policies, despite issues elsewhere in the globe, he may have the confidence of the American people. However, if the economic situation worsens as a result of his actions abroad, then there could be an issue for the administration.
As we’ve seen in the past, it can quickly swell into a position where Trump can capitalize and make a strong push for a return to the White House in 2024.
