While it is still the early days of Joe Biden’s presidency, it can be helpful to see how far his various campaign promises have come as a measure to determine his effectiveness as a president. When examining Biden’s most recent actions and policies, it seems as if he has kept his word on most promises, especially when it comes to COVID-19 recovery.
According to Politico’s Biden Promise Tracker, Biden has already made good on nine of his campaign promises, while 24 others are in the works. This may seem like a small amount to get done over only three months, but when compared to Donald Trump’s 24 total kept promises over all four years of his presidency, the number is staggering. Most of Biden’s accomplished promises revolved around COVID-19 recovery, including providing 100 million vaccines by his 100th day in office (which was completed by day 58), providing a small business restart package through the American Rescue Plan, and rejoining the WHO. Many Republicans have criticized this excellent record by attributing Biden’s success in dealing with COVID-19 to Operation Warp Speed: a Trump-era program. The goal of this program was to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
Despite this pushback, one thing is indisputable: the positive public reception. According to a recent Ipsos poll, 72% of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the pandemic, up from only 32% approving Trump’s response. Clearly, Biden is doing something right. Regardless of his Covid success, the President’s efficacy in bringing bipartisan cooperation to Congress and addressing social issues is yet to be seen.
His recent promise to increase the number of refugees coming into the U.S. seems to have died out as soon as it was proposed, and his national commission to address policing issues hasn’t been addressed since April 13th. It seems as if the bipartisan cooperation Biden touted will become increasingly important as the pandemic slowly is diminishing in importance from a public policy standpoint. While the first few months of Biden’s presidency have certainly been characterized by adhering to his campaign promises, much can change in the coming years, and consistency will be key to keep the bulk of his campaign promises.
