As President Biden prepares to hand power back to President-elect Donald Trump later this month, he recently sat down for an interview with USA Today, where he described how he wants to be remembered. During the conversation, Biden portrayed himself as an important president who achieved great things for the American people. However, the findings from a December Gallup poll were released earlier this week, which paint a much different picture.
“I think one reason he wanted to do this interview is because he thinks his presidency has done a lot for Americans and for average people, for everyday workers, for people like those who live in his hometown of Scranton [Pennsylvania],” USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Page told Editor-in-Chief Caren Bohan. “And he wanted to make his case.”
Page noted that Biden seeks to be remembered among the likes of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a president whose legacy is hotly debated and particularly criticized among conservative circles. “He wants to be remembered like FDR. You know, he’s got FDR’s portrait hanging over the mantle of the fireplace in the Oval Office,” she said.
However, the aforementioned Gallup poll indicated that Biden is viewed as the second-worst president in United States history, only behind Richard Nixon. “Fifty-four percent of U.S. adults believe Biden will be remembered as a “below average” (17%) or “poor” (37%) president, while 19% say he will be evaluated as “outstanding” (6%) or “above average” (13%). Another 26% think he will be regarded as “average,”” Gallup reported on January 7.
Biden has faced substantial criticism regarding his policy throughout his term, with one of the latest pertaining to his recent sweeping ban on offshore drilling. “This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill,” incoming Trump administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
In his statement announcing the 11-hour decision, Biden said, “I am taking action to protect the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea from oil and natural gas drilling and the harm it can cause. My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs. It is not worth the risks. As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren.”
Continuing, he stated, “From California to Florida, Republican and Democratic Governors, Members of Congress, and coastal communities alike have worked and called for greater protection of our ocean and coastlines from harms that offshore oil and natural gas drilling can bring. In Alaska, dozens of Tribes have fought to protect the Northern Bering Sea, a vital ocean ecosystem that supports their traditional ways of life. Vice President Harris and I have listened. In balancing the many uses and benefits of America’s ocean, it is clear to me that the relatively minimal fossil fuel potential in the areas I am withdrawing do not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling.”
Watch Trump comment on the drilling ban below:
"*" indicates required fields