A presidential inaugural address tends to have a way of implanting itself into the national consciousness. John F. Kennedy spoke about personal responsibility in guarding freedom and peace. George W. Bush advanced his vision of spreading liberty across the world. On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden forcefully brought forth a message of national unity. This excessively repeated theme included mentioning the word "unity" no less than eight times.
So how is all this unity working out?
A new national survey conducted by Fox News asked the following question: "Do you think the country has become more or less united since Joe Biden took office?" Fifty-four percent of respondents say it is less united and only 37% answered more. In the polling business, that's called getting hammered. It's an odd juxtaposition to make unity your calling card and then set forth a series of divisive actions.
Why aren't Americans drinking the unity Kool-Aid Biden was serving on inauguration day? Perhaps it is due to the great divide between what he says and what he does. In a recent address to the nation outlining his six-point plan to beat back the coronavirus, the president took aim at the unvaccinated and laid the blame at the feet of those who have refused the jab. "We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin and your refusal has cost all of us," he railed. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) called the president's speech divisive, counterproductive, and noted his heavy-handed mandates will only serve to "harden the resistance."
However, this is merely the most recent of Mr. Biden's divisive actions. When talking about basic election integrity laws proposed and ultimately passed by several states, 46 conjured up extremist rhetoric by labeling the new rules reminiscent of the "Jim Crow era" and calling them "un-American" and "sick."
The division Mr. Biden has fostered in his eight short months in office can be traced back to April when NBC conducted an obsequious poll. Much of it ingratiating and sycophantic, the Biden national network of record couldn't hide the results to the dreaded "u" question – unity: "… despite Biden's positive marks on uniting the country, 82 percent of respondents in the poll say the country is divided, while only 16 percent say it's united."
The Real Issue
In his COVID speech, the president brought up the issue of honesty. He told the story of a small business owner who he asked, "What do you need the most? … she said, 'I just want the truth. The truth. Just tell me the truth.' Think of that." Herein lies Joe Biden's problem. He tells the people that no one will be left behind in Afghanistan and then they are. He says he will oversee unprecedented economic growth, and then he cancels the Keystone XL pipeline, a move that effectively kills thousands of jobs. He puts forth a broad plan of draconian measures to force Americans to get vaccinated or risk losing their jobs while letting tens of thousands of potentially coronavirus-infected illegal aliens through a porous southern border. There appears to be a vast disconnect between Biden's truth and reality, just as there is between his actions and words. So why should it be any different with this superficial concept of national unity?
Although attribution to Jamaican singer Bob Marley is in dispute, there is one quote that appears to describe the vast difference between this president and the last: "The problem is that people are being hated when they are real and are being loved when they are fake." Many Americans railed against Mr. Trump's "mean tweets" and his argumentative nature, but for all his foibles, the bombastic billionaire was open and at times brutally honest with the American people.
At his best, Mr. Biden is a poseur – talking about unity while actively undermining it and often lying or blaming others for his administration's many and varied failures. Psychologists label such behavior manipulative to the point of toxic. These people, experts say, prefer power over relationships. One such internet site put it perfectly, "They'll tell half-truths or straight out lies and when they have enough people squabbling, they'll be the savior. 'Don't worry. I'm here for you.' Ugh. They'll listen, they'll comfort, and they'll tell you what you want to hear. And then they'll ruin you."
Or put more simply by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, "The more perfect a person is on the outside, the more demons they have on the inside." Thus, it should come as no surprise that our commander-in-chief is unable or unwilling to carry out his false promises of unifying this country.
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Read more from Leesa K. Donner.
