As long as the United States as existed blaming the President for things that he didn’t actually do/ control/ contribute to has been one of our national pastimes. It’s easy to blame someone you’ve never met for all your problems. Social media makes this easier to do than ever.
Joe Biden is certainly no stranger to public critique, having been in politics since the 70s. But now that he’s the President the attacks are faster and more furious than ever. It’s easy to poke fun at his age. It’s easy to laugh at his gaffes with teleprompters and with speeches in general. And up to a point, that’s par for the course.
My issue is with the blame being placed at Biden’s feet inaccurately. Many people haven’t realized that the world we live in now is nothing at all like the world we lived in in the 70s, or even the 90s. The planet is more interconnected than it’s even been. While there certainly are issues that are nation specific- such as gun violence and abortion rights – the majority of the problems that are currently in the news are global problems with the contributing factors beyond our shores.
Let’s look at gas prices. I’ve written a lot about this already. There are MANY factors that contribute to the price of gas, virtually none of which are under the control of the President, including OPEC production levels, refinery capacity, futures investments, and world events- including Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine. No, the US doesn’t not buy oil from Russia, but many European countries did. With the nearly worldwide boycott of Russian goods, there is now more competition for non Russian oil. Demand drives up prices. It’s economics 101.
Now let’s look at inflation. COVID closures caused a lot of demand for many, many things (including gas, by the way) and so spending plummeted. That caused prices to go down. Now that the world is mostly opened back up again, demand is up. Ongoing supply chain issues increase demand even further. Higher demand equals higher prices. This is also economics 101.
Both of these complex issues aren’t just happening in the United States. EVERY modern nation on Earth is experiencing these same issues, because the root causes are global. In terms of gas prices and inflation rates, the United States is about in the middle of the pack. We are not unique or special, or even close to the hardest hit. Blaming Biden for them shows a true lack of understanding of the world we live in. It might get you cheap laughs, but that’s it. And on one is impressed with that.