Biden will speak less than Trump
One ofmany things thatwill distinguish President JoeBiden fromhis predecessor is that the incoming president is likely to speak less in public, mostly because of how he garbles his thoughts andwords. The most recent examplewas when he called Peter Doocy of FoxNews a “one-horse pony.” Translators are stillworking to decipher that one.
Another difference will be trying to figure outwhoBiden really is and what he means by self-identifying as a “centrist.” Whether or not one believes President Trumpwas a true conservative, his policies (with the exception of running up the debt, for which both parties share blame) were clearly to the right.
Just before Christmas, Biden spokewith a fewnewspaper columnists. My invitation must have been lost in the mail or stolen by theRussians.
One of themwas Gerald Seib of The Wall Street Journal. About Biden’s comments, Seibwrites: “ForRepublicans and conservatives, Mr. Biden is saying, in effect, that they arewrong when they claim he has been, or soon will be, captured by the most liberal elements of his Democratic Party.… More broadly, Mr. Biden is planting a flag in the center. It’s pretty lonely there lately: we’ll soon see howmany rally around him there.”
Most people understand policies associated with liberals and conservatives, but what does it mean to be in the center? No one seems to have adequately defined the word inways thatmake sense, and Seib never asked Biden for his definition.
WouldBiden be willing tomove in the direction ofRepublicans and conservatives toward a center? He is unlikely to modify his views on social issues like abortion andLGBTQrights. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, introduced a bill thatwould protect the lives of babies whosurvive an abortion. Would Biden support that bill? Not if hewants to avoid attacks fromthe left, whoare already slamming Gabbard for what they call a violation of“women’s rights.” Howdoes protecting the life of a newborn affect a woman’s right? Does the left reallywant to go on record as baby killers, which some pro-lifers claim they are? Will they ever impose restrictions on abortions?
Howabout taxes on thewealthy, which Bidenwants to raise? It doesn’t appear hewouldmove toward the center on that issue. Ditto environmental protections and regulations, which he appears hewants to restore, reversingTrump’s efforts to gut them. Trump’s decisions helped drive the pre-COVID-19 economicboom and the current recovery.
Climate? Not likely given his devotion to the subject and refusal to consider any information that contradicts his views.
What aboutChina? Have Biden and his son, Hunter, been compromisedwhen it comes to China policy? DoesChina (and Ukraine) have information thatwould harm aBiden presidency and possibly worse because ofHunter’s business dealings?
Where is the “center” on confronting Iran and its race to develop a nuclear bomb?
Immigration? Biden has said hewants to grant citizenship to 11 million undocumented people already here and not buildTrump’s “big, beautiful (border) wall,” which alongwithCOVID-19 and an economic recession, has contributed to the decline in illegal border crossings. Such decisionswould almost certainly encourage even more to come.
What is the center position on the Middle East where Trump has had remarkable success coordinating peace deals with Israel? Would Bidenmove the U.S. Embassy fromJerusalem toTelAviv and revive relations with Palestinian leaderswhoremain committed to the destruction of the Jewish state?
I continue towait for someone to define centrism, which sounds tome like a cover to hide a radical liberal agenda.