Presidential candidates are notorious for making huge promises throughout their campaign. Former presidents Trump and Obama did it, and current president Joe Biden did the same.
The problem with these promises revolves around the fact that they are continually lacking follow through once each candidate holds power. Those elected to the prestigious position often have a lot on their plate, and it is easy to forget about the policies they only promised to push forward simply to get elected.
Junior Lilly Revell touched on her thoughts towards politicians. “The frustrating part about bureaucrats, the president and legislators, is that you can’t trust them. After so many years of witnessing unfulfilled promises, it is rather challenging to believe them anymore,” she proclaimed.
President Joe Biden came under fire recently in the media after ordering airstrikes to hit Iran supported Syrian bases on February 25. While the White House officials say that the decision was not made lightly and that it was the one least likely to escalate further tension, the order still exposes hypocrisy in Biden’s past words.
On June 22, 2019, Joe Biden tweeted a now recognizably hypocritical statement regarding his stance on the issue. “Trump’s erratic, impulsive actions are the last thing we need as Commander-In-Chief. No President should order a military airstrike without understanding the consequences,” Biden explained. “We do not need another war in the Middle East, but Trump’s actions toward Iran and Syria only make that more likely.”
It can be said that any airstrike, regardless of feelings of justification, will escalate conflict. As a country, the U.S. has had a long and violent history with Iran, and the last thing the nation needs right now is the resurgence of a war already lasting for decades.
Democrat Morgan Sorenson was an avid Biden supporter throughout the election. However, she is now quite disappointed with his actions. “I was quite disgusted when I turned on the news last week and saw what had happened. The president campaigned with a lot of ideas about improving foreign relations through peace, and the exact opposite has happened,” she said.
While the attack can not be taken back, many Americans are looking for improvement in the future from President Biden.
Sorenson was vocal on what she wants to see happen within the Biden administration. “I believe we should remove as many troops as possible from the Middle East. The U.S. should have a diplomatic presence in these nations and only use the military to take out terrorist targets, we need to minimize the amount of civilians killed from endless bombings,” she voiced.
Even worse for his constituents, Biden has not followed through on plenty of other promises either. Throughout his campaign Biden assured voters that he would halt deportations for an extended period of time, increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour and ban private prisons.
However, he has continued deportations, stopped trying to push the increased minimum wage into the COVID relief bill and still has detention centers to hold migrant children on the border.
Throughout the duration of the election season, many younger Americans said they were “settling for Joe” to avoid another Trump presidency. Constituents argued that his policy platform was far superior to his opponent on the right, but even after being in office since January 20, he has yet to put that platform into place.
President Biden needs to be held accountable for these actions, and it is up to citizens to do such a thing. As Biden’s approval rating lowers, senators and representatives may be inclined to vote against him to please their constituents. Until this occurs, America should not expect any changes, as at the end of the day promises are almost always forgotten once candidates reach the Oval Office.
