The twin crises Joe Biden pledged to end were plain to see on Washington’s National Mall when he was sworn as President of the United States a year ago today. Masked dignitaries and the absence of a crowd suggested a winter Covid wave killing thousands of Americans a day. A heavily militarised Washington, resembling an occupied foreign city not the capital of a democratic superpower, was an equally unmissable reminder of the chaos of the attack on the Congress two weeks earlier.
In his inaugural address, Biden pledged to “overcome this deadly virus” and “end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal”. Twelve months on, victory on either front has proved elusive. Biden promised unity and normalcy on the campaign trail. He has delivered neither in office.
