The Nation: “Biden’s Biggest Legacy: An Unending Trail of Blood”

Joe Biden coughs as he delivers remarks at the Department of Labor on December 16, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)

As his presidency staggers to a close, the question of Joe Biden’s “legacy” is hanging heavily in the air. Even though he is ending his term as a deeply unpopular figure who paved the way for Donald Trump’s return to the White House, some liberal politicians and pundits are trying as hard as they can to celebrate his time in office.

“By any objective standard…he was a very good president whose accomplishments will benefit the nation for many years to come,” The Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson insisted recently. Vice President Kamala Harris said Biden’s “legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” and that “in one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office.”

Biden, too, is touting his supposed achievements. In a speech about his foreign policy legacy on Monday, he said that he was “leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play” on the world stage.

For millions of Arab Americans, these statements make us question if we’ve been living in an alternate universe. That’s because, to us, Biden’s legacy will be defined by one thing and one thing only: his support for the genocide in Gaza, and his bloody history in the Middle East more generally, which stretches back decades.

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Read the full article on The Nation.