Wednesday (January 20th): Make America America again?

Joe Biden

Name? Joseph R. Biden Jr. 

Westphalian identity? United States American

Age? 78

Why is he in the news? Mr Biden officially becomes President Biden in today’s limited inauguration ceremony and is wasting no time to begin reversing Trump’s impact through 17 executive orders, memorandums, and proclamations.

Why do we care? Honestly, one of us is very excited to have one semester of university in which the U.S. is not led by the former Commander in Tweet… But also, our job will become a lot more predictable; yet maybe a tad more boring without Trump in the White House. That said, we are not complaining, for now. 

Why should you care? If we haven’t emphasized it enough, the President of the United States has impact, power and influence that reaches far further than the continental U.S. If this wasn’t evident enough with Trump, it will definitely be with President Biden’s first orders of business including repealing Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban;’ terminating Trump’s efforts at leaving the WHO; rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and many more. So on our How much should you care scale, this can only get a 10/10.

Who else cares? Two, in particular, Nethanyahu and MBS, have enjoyed a particular friendship with soon-to-be former President Trump due to his especially harsh stance on Iran. As the Biden administration takes office today, including Secretary of State-elect Antony Blinken, these friendships in the Middle East are likely to shift away from BFFs and closer to acquaintances with Biden’s commitment to re-entering a newer, stronger nuclear deal with Iran. 

Any further comments? Trump’s inauguration speech was all about America first; a policy approach which the US’ closest allies felt immediately with threats to NATO, declining engagement in multilateral institutions and a cosiness to dictators and strongmen all over the world. Biden has vowed to make America respected again. Maybe US Americans will be able to travel one day without apologising for their President upon arrival?

Joshua Dario Hasenstab

General Coordinator