What Became of Joe Biden’s 2020 Election Promises?

By Raúl Capote Fernández on December 15, 2023

photo: efe

The current US president, Joe Biden, will complete his term of office in January 2025, by which date the four years provided for in Article 2 of the Constitution of the United States will be completed.

He has been as warmongering as his predecessors, the most aggressive hawks linked to the war industry have found in his administration space for their imperial delusions, thus placing the world on the brink of a global conflict, generating crises of incalculable consequences.

“I will return our combat soldiers in Afghanistan home during my first term”, he announced, thus concluding the longest war in US history, with a chaotic end, however, he is the architect of lethal conflicts in other parts of the world, such as the conflict in Ukraine, he escalated serious situations of tension with China and Iran and is an accomplice of the Zionist massacre in Gaza, Palestine.

During his inauguration on January 21, 2021, Biden said: “I am going to put all my soul into this, into bringing America back together”, referring to the deep divisions in society, aggravated during the mandate of his predecessor, the Republican Donald Trump.

Today, however, those divisions are even greater and the country is fragmented and polarized.

Immigration, guns and minorities, three emblematic issues, are considered part of Biden’s biggest failures, as mass shootings have increased, he has not passed a law to protect African Americans’ access to vote, nor has he curbed racists police abuses against them.

His campaign promise to grant legal status to the nearly 11 million undocumented people residing in the country remains in limbo.

The hope of an immigration reform to open the path to citizenship for millions of migrants and especially for the “dreamers”, the young people who came to the United States as children, also remains on the back burner.

Allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of drugs and eliminating the death penalty were some of his commitments to reach the White House.

However, he has been unable to push through Congress an assault weapons ban and his ambitious plan to forgive some student debt was rejected outright by the Supreme Court.

“Make public colleges and universities free for all families whose income is less than $125,000 a year,” he said, but Washington has also failed to make this promise a reality.

Biden has maintained the position that building a border wall is ineffective. But the White House recently authorized the completion of some sections of the wall, for budget reasons, thus extending the dreams of Trump.

As president, he enacted a law authorizing the federal government to negotiate lower prices for some drugs for Medicare beneficiaries, but without repealing existing law, adding an exception, i.e., nothing from Bidencare as he said during a debate in October 2020.

Since taking office, he has taken no action to make this Bidencare proposal a reality, which could mean for Americans, the ability to enroll in a government-run health plan.

Meanwhile Cubans are still waiting for Biden’s campaign promise of improving relations with the island when the reality is that the ongoing affects of the blockade and the renewal of Cuba on the unilateral list of States sponsoring terrorism has only made things worse.

Donald Trump, in spite of his affirmative speeches, did not fulfill the commitments announced during the campaign either. He proclaimed himself many times as the most effective president in history, but in truth, he did very little except go backwards.

Raúl Capote Fernández is a Cuban professor, researcher and journalist. He is a frequent contributor to Resumen Latinoamericano.

Raúl receives U.S. Congressional delegation
Affairs of interest to both countries were discussed during the meeting
Author: Granma | internet@granma.cu
february 21, 2018 08:02:13

Photo: Estudio Revolución

Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers, yesterday afternoon received a delegation from the United States Congress, led by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont).
The group also included two other Democratic Senators, Ron Wyden from Oregon and Gary Peters from Michigan, and House Representatives James McGovern (D-Massachusetts) and Susan Davis (D-California).
Affairs of interest to both countries were discussed during the meeting.
Additionally present on the Cuban side were Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and Carlos Fernández de Cossío, the ministry’s general director for the United States.

U.S. congressional delegation reaffirms need to improve relations with Cuba
U.S. members of Congress expressed the need to continue the process, initiated by the Obama administration, toward the normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States, during a February 21 press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Havana
Author: Redacción Digital | internet@granma.cu
february 21, 2018 16:02:11

Photo: Prensa Latina
U.S. members of Congress expressed the need to continue the process, initiated by the Obama administration, toward the normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States, during a February 21 press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
The group, led by Democrat Senator and Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman, Patrick Leahy, arrived in Cuba last weekend, here to review –together with local authorities – changes in Washington’s policy toward the island since President Donald Trump assumed office in January 2017.
During the press conference, Leahy mentioned the meeting that he and his colleagues held yesterday with Cuban President, Raúl Castro, describing the encounter as extremely frank and pleasant, during which Cuba’s desire to continue improving bilateral relations, despite current circumstances was expressed.
The Senator for Vermont criticized the new direction taken by the Trump administration with regard to Cuba policy, and in particular measures related to the withdraw of diplomatic personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Havana and the expulsion of members of Cuba’s diplomatic corps from its headquarters in Washington.
This is a grave error which harms the interests of both governments and peoples and above all those who need to visit either country for family or business purposes, as well as so many other things that were frozen under the pretext of the health incidents reported by U.S diplomatic staff in the Cuban capital, noted Leahy.
Regarding this issue, the U.S. Senator highlighted the Cuban government’s cooperation in resolving the case and stated that he believes the island’s authorities do not have the slightest intention to harm U.S. citizens who visit Havana.
What is more he noted that not a single one of his colleagues had any fears about travelling to Cuba as they believe the island to be a safe place, and have even travelled here with their spouses, and in Leahy’s case, with his 13 year old granddaughter.
The group, which will return to the U.S. today, February 21, also includes senators Ron Wyden from Oregon and Gary Peters from Michigan, as well as House Representatives James McGovern (D-Massachusetts), Kathy Castor (D-Florida) who was not present during the press conference, and Susan Davis (D-California).
For his part McGovern criticized recent steps by the Trump administration to reduce the number of staff at the U.S and Cuban embassies as well as other changes by the White House which have had negative implications for bilateral relations, as they affect travel by Cuban and U.S. citizens to both countries.
On Monday, February 20, the Congressional delegation held a meeting with Director General for the United States at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Carlos Fernández de Cossio, who thanked them for their efforts to improve relations.
The Cuban official also reiterated that no evidence of the alleged sonic attacks against U.S. diplomatic personnel in Havana exists, as sectors intent on preventing any advance in the normalization of relations between the two countries, are claiming.

Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues statement addressing allegations by the U.S.
Cuba has never, nor would it ever, allow that the Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic agents or their families, without exception

Author: MINREX | internet@granma.cu
august 10, 2017 09:08:38

On 17 February this year, the United States Embassy in Havana and the Department of State informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the occurrence of some alleged incidents affecting some officials of that diplomatic mission and their families.
Cuba took this issue with the utmost seriousness and acted expeditiously and professionally in order to clarify the facts of this situation, initiating a comprehensive, priority and urgent investigation on the indications of the highest level of the Cuban government. To this end, it conveyed to the United States Embassy the need for information-sharing and proposed to establish cooperation between the competent authorities of both countries.
The Cuban authorities set up an inter-institutional expert committee for the analysis of the facts; expanded and reinforced the protection and security measures of the mission, its staff and diplomatic residences; and new channels were made available for direct communication between the Embassy and the Department of Diplomatic Security.
In this context, on 23 May, the Department of Sate informed the Cuban Embassy in Washington of the decision that two Cuban diplomats leave the United States territory. This led to a protest by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs due to this unjustified and unsubstantiated decision.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms that Cuba complies rigorously and seriously with all its obligations arising from the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in connection with the protection and inviolability of diplomatic agents and the premises of diplomatic missions.
Our country’s impeccable track record in this area is recognized internationally and Cuba is universally considered as a safe destination for both visitors and foreign diplomats, including Americans.
The Ministry categorically emphasizes that Cuba has never, nor would it ever, allow that the Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic agents or their families, without exception. Moreover, it reiterates its willingness to cooperate in the clarification of this situation.
Havana, 9 August 2017.