Last Monday America saw its first peaceful transfer of presidential power between a Democrat and a Republican since 2016. After all of the formalities and the inauguration of the new administration, Joe Biden became just the second president in United States history to be succeeded by the same person he defeated four years earlier. And while that might become trivia for history buffs to recite on game night, the legacy he left behind is much more than that. 

The economy saw an almost complete rebound after Covid-19, with both inflation and employment rates returning to pre-Covid levels. The United States also added about six trillion dollars to the national GDP in Biden’s four years as president. The Biden Administration brought us out of the pandemic, with most progress towards reopening the economy and getting vaccines out was done under Biden. 

The flagship bill of the Biden Administration would be the Inflation Reduction Act. Among the contents of the law are a reduction of the national deficit, lower energy costs, cleaner energy production, caps out-of-pocket drug prices at $2,200 and allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices, making corporations and billionaires pay their share in taxes, and no new taxes for families making less than $400,000 and small businesses. The Inflation Reduction Act has been the source of many attacks from Republicans during this past election, and parts of the law have already been repealed by new executive orders by the new administration. 

There are no doubt blemishes on Biden’s legacy, with the most major one being his handling of the war in Gaza. While Israel was attacked on October 7th, 2023 by Hamas, for a year and three months the Israeli military ruthlessly bombed thousands of helpless civilians in the Gaza Strip. A majority of the weapons used by Israel were given to them by the United States. In Biden’s final days in office, a peace deal was finally brokered and aid was allowed into Gaza, but America’s contribution to the Israel-Hamas War will forever be a dark chapter in his presidency. 

Another negative aspect of Biden’s Administration was its seeming lack of action in the second half of the presidency. While Biden’s clearly declining mental ability is a factor, there was a Republican majority in the House of Representatives after the 2022 midterm elections and a conservative-leaning Supreme Court that contested Biden’s policies. Notably, the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the 2022 decision Dobbs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. 

So what is the legacy of Biden? He managed to win an election in a turbulent time for the United States, but he had to give up the White House to the same person he fought to make sure they wouldn’t drive America off a cliff. He realized the limitations of his own body and handed the reins of the Democratic Party and the campaign to the next generation, but after the election loss all it has done is leave the party without a leader again. He pushed for peace and compromise, all while supplying the means for war and terror. Biden has done great acts as president, but most of these actions will be overturned by this time, four years later. Biden’s presidency is one of having good intentions, but rarely being able to realize them due to forces in and out of control.