Editorial | President Biden needs to deliver on his progressive campaign policies

President Joe Biden ran his campaign as a progressive candidate against Donald Trump’s lean into extremist Republican ideals. He proposed immigration reform and spoke out against Trump’s border wall. He also proposed measures to combat COVID-19, emphasizing the need to listen to scientists.

Now, nearly two years into Biden’s presidency, we’re seeing some of these progressive policies fall to the wayside. Construction on Trump’s infamous border wall has resumed under Biden’s administration, and Biden said the pandemic is over, despite scientists telling us the opposite. 

If Biden and the Democrats want to do well in the midterm elections this November, they need to follow through on the things they promised while campaigning.

During a recent interview with 60 Minutes, Biden boasted that the pandemic is over. Despite life going somewhat back to normal after the two years of COVID-19, there are still active cases and immunocompromised people who are concerned for their health. Internationally, countries with underdeveloped infrastructure or less access to vaccines have yet to curb the spread of COVID-19.

While campaigning, Biden called out Trump on his lack of effort to prevent and stop the pandemic as well as criticizing the many in his base who were against the vaccine. While the Biden administration has worked hard to get the vaccines out and stop the spread of misinformation about it, stating that the pandemic is over was way too premature, as there are still thousands in the US getting COVID-19 every day. Despite what the science is saying, Biden posited that the pandemic is over, something that Trump did often while in office. 

Despite criticizing Trump’s border wall on the campaign trail and saying he would cease its construction once president, reports indicate that the wall is still being built. It’s truly upsetting that, nearly two years into his presidency, Biden has yet to change the symbol of Trump’s presidency and the dehumanizing treatment of immigrants.

Further, there are still children in shelters who were separated from their parents after crossing the border — something Biden promised to remedy once in office. Weeks into his presidency, Biden reopened shelters. While his policies are less severe than Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on immigration, the Biden administration needs to work harder to return these kids back to their families and create a way for them to safely and legally re-enter the country.

Despite trying to appeal to a progressive base by being highly critical of Trump’s policies on the campaign trail, Biden has kept many of them. We need to hold Biden accountable and make sure his actions speak louder than his words.