Biden his time: How the President is faring in his first 14 months

Biden election campaign was one of calculation and strategy – not one of loud promises and loud politics. So how is he faring?

Putting it all on blue

Biden cast himself effectively as not just an anti-Trump, but an anti-too-far-left as well. In navigating the presidential campaign with relative ease, the largest doubts over his potential leadership were mainly about how a rarely exciting sleepy Joe would manage the world’s increasingly online challenges.

But from Covid to inflation and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Biden has been pretty much everything he promised: a pragmatist.

The politics of the middle of the road

Biden took to the Oval Office knowing that he needed to get to grips with a raging Covid crisis. And to the extent that anybody can deal with a pandemic, the US has certainly fared no worse than other countries since he took the reins. Soaring inflation is impacting countries around the world, while on the Russian invasion, Biden and the US have led the way at the head of a global coalition of countries slapping massive sanctions on the Kremlin.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing – and the biggest headache is yet to come. Spiking gas prices are enough to cost even popular presidents their re-election ambitions. The cost of living is going through the roof, so if he is to develop any foundations for re-election, Biden will face his sternest challenge yet.

So while he was never likely to be the most popular President ever, Biden has proven determined enough to tackle multiple major crises all at the same time – something he will certainly need going forward.