Evaluating corrupt Biden on his weak record

OPINION:

President Biden pulled off an unlikely victory in 2020. Despite being a plagiarizing, lying, corrupt and senile candidate, he convinced the Democrat party that he was their best option in defeating Donald Trump, and he succeeded. Should he try again in 2024?

Democrats are wary of running an uninspiring, gaffe-prone octogenarian for their slot in 2024. Yet because Kamala Harris proves every day why she is not a good replacement, there is no obvious second choice for 2024.

Some Republicans would like to see Mr. Biden run again because they believe he is a weak candidate who would be easier to beat. This is especially true for ultra-MAGA Republicans (or whatever the left is now calling regular Republicans) who would love to see Mr. Biden humiliated in a landslide victory reminiscent of Ronald Reagan’s 1980 trouncing of President Jimmy Carter.

But Republicans must resist this vengeance urge and evaluate whether Mr. Biden should run again, based solely on his record.

What is Mr. Biden’s record as president? First, he might be the most corrupt president in U.S. history. You can be sure that come January, House Republicans will leave no stone unturned in revealing more Biden family corruption.

No American should want the presidency turned into a personal piggy bank to benefit one family and its cronies. Suddenly, the critics who saw daily emolument-clause violations by former President Trump now turn a blind eye to the obvious improprieties of the Biden administration.

Second, our country is weaker under Mr. Biden, and the world is less safe. Russia threatens nuclear attacks on the West. The Chinese Communist Party views Mr. Biden as weak. North Korea’s despotic leader launches missiles toward our allies. The world is less safe when the United States projects weakness.

How about right here on our own soil? An out-of-control border threatens our national security. Questions abound over who is crossing our border and with what intentions. Flagrant violations of our immigration laws demean the rule of law.

Communities around the country are already weighed down by increasing crime, and many people rightly do not feel safe in their homes and on their streets. All the more so when our border policy has essentially opened the country to anyone and everyone, without any legal process or vetting, so that our borders are completely uncontrolled.

Mr. Biden has also made the United States weaker economically. While he has succeeded in running up the national debt and increasing big-government spending in areas where the private sector is better able to allocate resources, he has failed to curb inflation effectively and has harmed the value of American-held assets.

Claiming to use emergency powers for pandemic relief, Mr. Biden attempted to orchestrate one of the biggest illegitimate political payouts in history. In an effort to get out the youth vote for the 2022 midterms, he claimed the power to cancel college debt with taxpayer funds.

He would have sent the tab to taxpayers who never attended college and those who did attend and actually paid would now be on the hook. The plan would shoulder the working class with the profligate debt loads of those who incurred six-figure debts to goof off for four years while earning college degrees in useless topics with no real-world earning power.

In all of this, Mr. Biden has deepened our national divisions. The record is clear. He repeatedly smears his political opponents. His speech in Philadelphia and his speech on the eve of the midterm elections attacked the patriotism and acceptability of Americans who oppose his policies.

Rather than rallying the citizenry together to face our continuing challenges, Mr. Biden demonizes Americans for disagreeing with him. His supposed commitment to diversity and inclusion is neither diverse nor inclusive enough to include Republicans.

His administration magnifies the culture war, supporting left-wing teachers unions over the legitimate interests of parents concerned about the education of their children. Time and again, Mr. Biden shows that political power is his only guiding principle. When he thinks a position will increase his power, he takes that position despite other values that should prevail.

Mr. Biden should never run again, even though he would probably be easier for a Republican to beat than a younger, less-encumbered Democrat. His family corruption, his weakening of America domestically and internationally, his surrender of the border to cartels and traffickers, and the economic damage he continues to do should persuade Democrats to choose someone else in 2024.

Will Democrats support another Biden run? Rumor has it that Pete Buttigieg has already picked out a decorating scheme for the Oval Office. And other Democrats urging against a Biden reelection bid include cronies of none other than (surprise, surprise) Hillary Clinton.

• Gayle Trotter is an attorney and political analyst based in Washington. Follow her on Twitter @gayletrotter.