This is not an indictment of Biden, but it does demonstrate that he fell short on his pledge to “shut down the virus” and in his premature declaration of our “independence” from it.
In many ways, this comparison is unfair to both men. Trump was less prepared than Biden, and, aside from Operation Warp Speed—a huge caveat—Trump’s irresponsible actions and rhetoric made a bad situation worse. Likewise, it’s not Biden’s fault that many Americans (often Trump fans) have refused to get vaccinated.
But weirdly, Biden’s inability to prevent this horrible milestone only reinforces the fact that it’s time for Democrats to reset and accept a new normal in the new year, where it’s acknowledged that COVID-19 is endemic. Under this new paradigm, health officials can and should keep doing their work, while the rest of us get back to our work—exercising proper precautions—but without the stultifying theater of government-imposed shutdowns and mask mandates that the Democratic Party inclines towards.
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