American President Biden faces two difficult challenges at this crucial moment having launched his reelection bid last month.
Biden will seek to convince Americans, as he successfully did in 2020, that he has the experience to manage the country through domestic and international tumult. His administration oversaw the end of the pandemic in 2021.
Last year was marked by invasion (in Ukraine) and inflation (in the U.S.). Both of those concerns have receded, too, at least for most Americans.
But the president’s promise of competent leadership is now being tested as strenuously as at any point during his time in the White House.
Last year began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and attendant fears that the crisis could spiral into a broader European conflict, perhaps even a nuclear confrontation.
The war in Eastern Europe continues, but the international coalition in defense of Ukraine that Biden leads has consistently sapped Russia’s military strength, making an outright Kremlin victory highly unlikely in the near future.
And back home, there was another threat to tame: a historic inflation spike that, by June, had reached record levels, depressing the daily purchasing power of Americans’ salaries. But the inflation rate has been steadily declining.
According to Alexander Nazaryan, Senior White House Correspondent in his article, Biden cannot credibly claim full credit for solving either challenge, but he has argued that presidential leadership requires steady resolve, and he will almost certainly repeat that point on the campaign trail. He will surely contrast that with GOP front runner Donald Trump’s freewheeling approach to governing.