The historic lies and failures of the Biden administration

OPINION:

Looking back on 2022, the Biden presidency was a mixed bag — a mixed bag of lies, failures and nothing else. President Biden has been a resounding dud as commander in chief, with his words and actions (or lack thereof) ranging from the comical to the ineffectual and downright embarrassing.

On the eve of 2023, there is perhaps no greater Biden failure than the U.S. economy, which is headed for a recession. Seventy percent of economists expect one, warning Americans that inflation will remain sky-high while economic growth continues to be virtually nonexistent. In states like California and Pennsylvania, gas prices still hover around or exceed $4 per gallon, while food prices continue to rise. The price of lettuce, for example, has increased by nearly 10% since October alone.

Americans across the socioeconomic spectrum are struggling, with pocketbook issues still top of mind. In fact, almost two-thirds of Americans now live from paycheck to paycheck — up from 60% in October. The high cost of living is understandably the greatest concern among voters and taxpayers, and most Americans blame Mr. Biden for their financial woes.

Don’t just take my word for it. Mr. Biden’s approval rating remains below the woeful 40% mark, weighed down by anger and frustration pertaining to the economy. There’s a reason that Republicans won the popular vote by about 5 percentage points in the 2022 midterms.

And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Issue after issue, Mr. Biden receives failing marks. Take illegal immigration, which is essentially at its highest level ever. In fiscal 2022, Border Patrol encounters with those who entered the U.S. illegally reached nearly 2.8 million — up from under 650,000 in former President Donald Trump’s last year of office.

Even CNN admits “the U.S. has a border crisis,” which tells you how critical the issue has become. The Washington Post, unable to ignore reality, now regularly uses the phrase “border surge.” Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat and Biden ally, concedes that the White House’s immigration agenda — if there even is one — “hasn’t worked” in Texas or anywhere else.

Only Biden officials live in fantasyland, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claiming that the border isn’t “open.” Mr. Biden himself refuses to visit the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping for illegal immigrants to go away by themselves. The president recently met with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso to discuss non-immigration-related issues, suggesting that “we’ve made historic strides on migration.” He’s right: Mr. Biden has indeed made history, but for all the wrong reasons.

And even that’s not the whole iceberg. Lest we forget the Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal, which has now drawn a congressional investigation into the 13 Americans left dead and hundreds more left behind. White House officials are now in the business of obstructing investigators who are seeking accountability and transparency over the Afghanistan debacle. Cue more lies: National Security Council spokesman John Kirby recently claimed that the likes of China can only “marvel” at the “efficiency” and “effectiveness” of the withdrawal, despite the fact that the Chinese Communist Party has leveraged that same withdrawal to paint the United States as an unreliable global partner and a nation in decline.

Mr. Biden’s failures and lies are so egregious that our enemies are using them as national rallying cries. It’s all right, though: According to Mr. Biden, his presidency has been a whopping success. The administration is “celebrating” its supposed accomplishments this holiday season, regardless of the countless problems that remain unsolved. Here’s how the liberal media looks at it: “Biden plans to seize the opportunity to showcase that he, in the White House’s view, has gotten more done in two years than any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt.”

To that end, the Biden administration has created the “Biden-Harris Record” website, highlighting the policy “wins” of this White House. Leading the website? This line: “Lowering costs of families’ everyday expenses.”

Oh, to live in Mr. Biden’s fantasyland. You at least have to give him credit for the confidence. Irrational it may be, but Americans can only hope to love themselves the way that Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris love their time in power.

While Democrats pat themselves on the back, everyday Americans are left picking up the pieces from their policies, hoping for better days ahead. Those days won’t come in 2023, but 2024 will bring the change of leadership that Americans so desperately need.

• Ted Harvey serves as chairman of the Committee to Defeat the President.