Joe Biden – Now a Populist Like Donald Trump? It is impossible to know how any of the nation’s Founding Fathers actually sounded, as we must rely solely on written accounts. It has been suggested that George Washington was able to deftly hit the right tone with a specific audience. Still, other accounts tell of a man who didn’t actually project his voice and audiences struggled to hear him. Likewise, Thomas Jefferson is remembered as a powerfully strong writer, and was respected for his knowledge of the law, but was hardly an outstanding speaker.
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Our modern lawmakers will live on, thanks to recording technology. President Franklyn Roosevelt, with his trained Mid-Atlantic accent that likely reminded Americans he was of a “better class,” is remembered as an orator for the ages. He was also meticulous in fine-tuning his speeches, likely to help compensate for the crippling disability that left him without the use of his legs.
President Joe Biden, a self-confessed gaffe machine who strived to overcome a lifelong stutter, is no great orator. Yet, numerous pundits have praised his State of the Union speech this week – not just for its content, but for its delivery.
“What made it work was not just that Biden was in a buoyant spirit, with an energy that’s often lacking, but that it was a clearly political speech with a clear political goal: to define Biden as the guy who is on your side, going after the big boys who were flourishing at your expense,” wrote Emmy-winning TV analyst Jeff Greenfield for Politico.com.
Joe Biden Sounded Like a Populist?
CNN.com also noted that even as the State of the Union was meant to make a case for a second term, despite faltering approval numbers, “Biden sounded more like a consumer advocate than a head of state.”
Some might even suggest Biden may have sounded at least a bit like former President Donald Trump, who was never known to stick to the script. It might be a stretch to suggest that Biden and Trump have a remotely similar vision for the future of the United States of America. Biden is still a globalist who seems willing to invite in the masses from anywhere, while Trump would be happy to build a wall around the entirety of America and roll out the Not Welcome Mat to any foreigner.
A closer inspection of Biden’s address noted that he seeks to stand up to China, even if he didn’t address the spy balloon that slowly floated across America over the weekend. The current White House occupant has said he wants “competition, not conflict” while the former resident wanted a U.S. victory at any and all costs.
Likewise, Biden took a page from the populist playbook by declaring that future federal infrastructure projects should require the use of American products.
“We’re going to buy American, folks. And it’s totally— it’s totally consistent with international trade rules. Buy America has been the law since 1933, but for too long past administrations, Democrat and Republican, have fought to get around it. Not anymore. Tonight I’m announcing new standards require all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects to be made in America,” Biden said in his State of the Union address.
“Made in America, I mean it. Lumber, glass, drywall, fiber optic cable, and on my watch, American roads, bridges, and American highways are going to be made with American products as well,” the president added.
While such a pledge won’t still likely endear Biden to those who continue to feel compelled to wear a MAGA hat as part of the resistance, it should be noted, it is as shortsighted a vision under Biden as it was under Trump.
Buy American Act – Dated Policy
The Buy American Act, which was passed in 1933 by Congress and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on his last full day in office, required the United States government to “prefer” U.S.-made products in its purchases. As the Niskanen Center noted, the Depression-era law should be seen as harmful to the American economy.
“The jobs Buy America provisions create come at a cost of between $250,000 to over $1 million per job ‘saved,’ and only last about five years. The equipment it provides is often shoddy, as well,” the Niskanen Center explained.
The think tank further added, “Buy America was intended to support American industry, but has had the opposite effect. Its damage may not be so evident wherever the United States already enjoys a global technological lead, but in the train market, where the United States is at the developed world’s rear, the problems are out in the open … Worse, none of the benefits it was supposed to bring are real. It does not help create jobs.”
Other think tanks, including the Heritage Foundation and the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) have made similar arguments, criticizing the 90-year-old law. The Heritage Foundation suggests its repeal would actually create jobs, while PIIE has argued it remains bad for taxpayers and worse for any U.S. company seeking to export American products.
Whether Joe Biden actually knows these facts – which in all honesty he should – doesn’t matter. “Buy American” sounds good for someone who needs to appeal to Union workers while preparing to announce a reelection campaign. Biden is smart enough, or at least his people are, to know that Trump will use this populist line, and Biden is simply telling that audience what they (think) they want to hear.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
