President Joe Biden recently described his withdrawal from Afghanistan as an “extraordinary success.” If Biden’s idea of success is a withdrawal in which countless American citizens and Afghan allies are left stranded and military equipment worth billions of dollars is left for terrorists to use against us, I can only wonder which of his other actions Biden regards as successful.
If abject failure is our new standard for any and all actions undertaken by this administration, then Biden has wasted no time showing us that he is a political genius. On Inauguration Day, just hours after taking the oath of office, Biden began signing executive orders, many of which reversed President Trump’s policies.
One of these orders halted the construction of a wall at our southern border, and the other ended the Migrant Protection Protocols — also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy — that required migrants to stay in Mexico while awaiting their immigration hearings. By signing these orders, Biden essentially opened our southern border to anyone who wishes to enter the country.
What has been the result of this early “extraordinary success” of the Biden administration? There have been over one million migrants who have come in through the southern border since Biden took office in January, and most have not been vetted to determine their health status or criminal history. At this rate, there will be approximately 1.8 million immigrants entering through this border by the end of 2021. This number represents a 500% increase over the number of immigrants in 2020.
But don’t worry — the official word is that there is no crisis at the border. The unofficial word, however, is different. Recently, Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security — in a statement to Border Patrol agents that was leaked to the press — admitted that the current situation is “unsustainable” and “cannot continue.”
Biden’s political genius isn’t confined to domestic policy. In record time, our president has managed to turn our foreign policy on its head by employing the brilliant strategy of acquiescing to our adversaries and alienating our allies. Soon after taking office, Biden sent the formidable John Kerry to implore the Iranians to rejoin the nuclear deal they had agreed to during the Obama administration. In May, Biden agreed to let Russia complete the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline that would supply Germany with natural gas. In August, Biden turned Afghanistan over to the Taliban with his rapid and chaotic withdrawal. Just days ago, Biden described the Taliban as “businesslike and professional” while working with them to release Americans and Afghan allies unable to leave by the deadline he had imposed.
Meanwhile, Biden has alienated our NATO allies by leaving Afghanistan without consulting them, resulting in a level of outrage rarely aimed at an American leader. The UK Parliament censured Biden for making this move. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called Biden’s plan “imbecilic.” Armin Laschet, the likely successor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, described the pullout as “the greatest debacle that NATO has seen since its foundation.” And these are the people who recently welcomed Biden into their European-style socialist club.
Perhaps Biden’s most extraordinary success lies in his ability to make Americans believe he does not care about them. Since taking office, Biden has issued orders and supported policies that have destroyed our southern border, discouraged people from working by extending unemployment benefits — thus helping to create a nationwide labor shortage — and abandoned American citizens and Afghan allies to the mercy of terrorists. He has also promised to support legislation that would create the largest tax increase in our history to pay for social programs and climate change initiatives that half of America strongly opposes.
Biden looks at his policies and actions — his extraordinary successes — and sees a bright, shining world. Anyone with any sense looks at them and sees economic disaster and geopolitical chaos.
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to pray for more failure and less “success.”
