The 46th president largely exists as Trump’s foil, with his successor blaming him for the country’s woes
In bitter cold beneath the US Capitol dome, he walked to a marine helicopter and shared parting words with Donald Trump. Then, arriving at Joint Base Andrews, Joe Biden offered farewell remarks to his loyal staff. “We’re leaving office,” he said, “We’re not leaving the fight.”
But, one year later, Washington, and the world, have mostly moved on from the 46th president. Biden, 83, has been writing a lucrative memoir, planning a presidential library and fighting prostate cancer. He was once the most powerful man on the planet, but now Biden’s public appearances have been scarce and his influence has palpably diminished.
Chris Whipple, an author of books including The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House, said: “He’s been the invisible man. He’s been very smart to stay under the radar because the last thing the Democratic party needs is any reminders of his final year in office, his ill-starred 11th-hour abdication and the resulting defeat of Kamala Harris.”
Former presidents have by tradition tended to keep a low profile out of respect for the office, giving their successors time and space to find their feet and make the Oval Office their own. Trump, as ever, was an outlier as he continued to lambast Biden and falsely claim the 2020 election had been stolen during his political exile.
Biden, who surprised many with the scale and ambition of his legislative agenda during the first two years of his presidency, saw his opinion poll numbers sag as he neared the end of his term. A disastrous debate performance against Trump fuelled concerns about his age and forced him to abandon his bid for re-election.
A year ago this week he cut a forlorn figure sitting beside his wife, Jill, in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington as Trump delivered an inaugural address that spelled out his determination to erase the Biden legacy.
Whereas Biden had cast 6 January 2021 as a dark day for US democracy, Trump used his first day to issue sweeping pardons to more than 1,500 rioters, installed 2020 election deniers in senior posts and used state machinery to reframe the assault as an episode of patriotic protest.
While Biden signed the biggest climate spending bill in history, Trump has mounted an unrestrained assault on clean-energy initiatives and championed fossil fuels as the engine of cheaper energy and the burgeoning AI sector.
Trump has rejected Biden’s faith in professionalism and expertise, dismissing thousands of career officials, imposing loyalty tests and hollowing out agencies previously insulated from political interference. He elevated Robert F Kennedy Jr and other fringe voices to influential positions in healthcare.
The president has purged diversity, equity and inclusion frameworks from government and mounted a broad offensive on universities and public bodies he blames for the Biden-era “woke” agenda. It comes alongside an aggressive hardening of immigration policy, both illegal and legal.
And on the global stage, Trump is sketching a new world order based on power, strength and self-interest, straining relations with allies through threats of seizing land and imposing tariffs and economic coercion. It is a far cry from Biden’s commitment to postwar structures such as Nato and support for Ukraine.
In the face of such an onslaught it is Barack Obama, 64, who has been more politically active, taking part in dozens of public engagements including campaign rallies during last November’s elections.
.
Biden’s forays into public life, by contrast, have been few and far between. In May his post-presidential office announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which had spread to his bones.
In July he spoke at the Society for Human Resource Management’s convention in San Diego, California, and said he was receiving calls “from a number of European leaders asking me to get engaged”. Biden also revealed he was “working like hell” to write a 500-page memoir, which he reportedly sold for $10m to Little, Brown & Co, an imprint within Hachette.
However, NBC News reported that Biden was struggling to raise money for a presidential library from donors who feel fatigued and let down. Obama’s presidential library is due to open in Chicago this spring.
In October, Biden addressed an audience in Boston after receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Edward M Kennedy Institute. “Friends, I can’t sugar-coat any of this. These are dark days,” Biden said. He then predicted the country would “find our true compass again” and “emerge as we always have – stronger, wiser and more resilient, more just, so long as we keep the faith”.
But Democrats have shown little appetite for such interventions. Many still blame Biden for stubbornly clinging on to the 2024 presidential nomination until it was too late, giving Harris only 107 days to forge a campaign of her own. His failure to prevent Trump’s return to the Oval Office is seen as an indelible stain on his legacy.
Frank Luntz, a political consultant and pollster, said: “He left office on a low and even Democrats feel like they were misled, so it’s gonna take a while for his reputation to return. He had a good one for the first couple of years but that’s not what people remember of his presidency. They remember how he went out, not how he came in.”
Now regarded as yesterday’s news, Biden is fading more quickly from the collective consciousness than most ex-presidents. But if anyone is keeping his memory alive, it is Trump and his fellow Republicans. The 79-year-old incumbent constantly references his predecessor in speeches and at press conferences, often with insults such as “Crooked Joe” and “Sleepy Joe”.
Trump installed a “presidential walk of fame” along the White House’s west colonnade, featuring portraits of past presidents, replacing Biden’s portrait with an autopen image to mock his age and legitimacy. An accompanying plaque calls him “by far, the worst President in American History”.
Luntz added: “It feels like the election isn’t over. It feels like it’s being rerun. It’s Groundhog Day. The election’s being run again and again and again.”
The White House has opened an investigation into the Biden administration’s use of the presidential autopen, which Trump has called “one of the biggest scandals in the history of our country”. Republicans in the House of Representatives launched investigations asserting that Biden’s closest advisers covered up a physical and mental decline during his presidency. The Senate started a series of hearings focused on his mental fitness.
But political commentators are sceptical that, more than a year into Trump’s presidency, efforts to make the electorate look back in anger at the 46th president will have much purchase.
Bill Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington, said: “Based on survey evidence, Trump’s effort to blame Biden for the current state of the economy is falling flat with the American people. By a margin of better than two to one, they say it’s Trump’s economy, not Biden’s, so from that standpoint rattling on about Biden on the most important issue facing the country is manifestly not helping him.”
Trump is canceling $30B in Biden-era green loans
The Trump administration is canceling $30 billion in green loans and revising another $53 billion, it said Thursday night.
The administration said the changes or eliminations from the $83 billion in total funding come after its review of $104 billion in loan obligations issued by the Biden administration.
While some cancellations have been already announced — such as the nearly $5 billion loan that would have helped finance a power line that would have gotten more wind and solar on the grid — it’s not clear what exactly the rest of the cancellations or revisions are.
The Energy Department did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for more information, though its website did state that it has eliminated $9.5 billion in wind and solar projects and replaced them with natural gas and nuclear energy where possible.
The department also said it has the ability to offer up more than $289 billion in loans and that it plans to prioritize nuclear, coal, oil, gas, minerals, geothermal energy, electric grid upgrades, manufacturing and transportation.
“Over the past year, the Energy Department individually reviewed our entire loan portfolio to ensure the responsible investment of taxpayer dollars,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a written statement.
The administration has repeatedly clawed back funding for green projects under the Biden administration. Last year, the Energy Department announced that it had canceled some $8 billion in funding while the Environmental Protection Agency has also sought to revoke billions.
Financial Pressure Mounts for Biden After Leaving White House
No longer accompanied by a private jet or the perks of the presidency, Mr. Biden enters post-White House life facing numerous challenges regarding age, illness, and financial pressure.
During his first Independence Day after leaving the White House, former president Joe Biden chose to vacation at a high-end mobile home in Malibu, owned by the musician Moby, a close friend of Hunter Biden. He and First Lady Jill Biden had a simple dinner by the shore at the Paradise Cove Beach Cafe.
This scene stood in stark contrast to the luxurious vacations of his predecessors. The family of former president Barack Obama chose to vacation on the famous island of Martha’s Vineyard, while Bill and Hillary Clinton attended a high-society wedding at the upscale Hamptons resort.
According to observers, this also reflects the reality that Mr. Biden’s post-term life no longer holds as much glamour as expected. At age 82, Mr. Biden faces many challenges while simultaneously undergoing treatment for prostate cancer and dealing with skin cancer.
Unlike other former presidents who can earn vast sums of money after their terms through book deals, memoirs, and speaking engagements, age and illness have significantly limited Mr. Biden’s financial opportunities.
It is not just a matter of health; after leaving office, Mr. Biden is also losing his footing within the Democratic Party. Even Kamala Harris, the deputy he once supported, recently criticized him publicly in a new book. She stated that the Democratic Party had been “reckless” in allowing Mr. Biden to run for re-election.
Without a private jet, Mr. Biden now often travels via commercial American Airlines flights or Amtrak trains. The fee he sets for each speaking engagement is approximately $300,000 to $500,000, but invitations are quite scarce.
The lobbying group SHRM once offered to pay Mr. Biden $275,000 for a speech before more than 20,000 attendees at the group’s annual conference in July. However, the group eventually agreed to pay $300,000 to help him cover the costs of airfare and lodging.
Besides income from speaking engagements, Mr. Biden has an annual pension of $416,000, including $250,000 as a former president and $166,000 for his years as vice president and a member of Congress. However, this amount does not seem sufficient to help him resolve his financial issues.
In the first weeks after leaving office, Mr. Biden confided to several people that he expected to pay off a personal debt of approximately $800,000, part of which is a loan for his house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
The Biden family has carried several debts in recent years. Financial records show he had a mortgage with TD Bank in 2013 and a home equity loan with M&T Bank in 2022.
Jill Biden has retired from teaching at Northern Virginia Community College with a salary of $100,000. She moved on to take an unpaid position as Chair of the Women’s Health Network at the Milken Institute, a think tank founded by former financier Michael Milken.
“If the Biden family maintains a frugal lifestyle, everything will be fine,” said a person familiar with the former president’s family finances.
However, the former president’s family has also recently encountered many troubles. His son, Hunter Biden, is falling into deep debt. Hunter’s ex-wife has appeared in court many times over the last six years to demand her ex-husband transfer child support for their three children. According to records filed with the court in April 2023, Hunter owed his ex-wife more than $3 million.
In March, Hunter admitted to a judge that his “income had significantly decreased” since late 2023 and he currently carries debts amounting to millions of dollars, while revenue from art and book sales has declined. Much like his father, Hunter is very rarely invited for paid speaking engagements.
“I expected to sign speaking contracts or attend paid events, but that did not happen,” Hunter once told the judge.
Former president Biden also wants to help his daughter Ashley, who filed for divorce last month, and wants to have a sum of money set aside for his grandchildren.
This summer, Mr. Biden signed a memoir publishing contract worth approximately $10 million with Hachette Book Group, but this figure is considered quite modest compared to the $60 million the Obama family once received.
Friends say Mr. Biden is spending most of his time on the memoir. In July, he also admitted he was “working hard” to finish the work. The former president and a biographer have met with many high-ranking politicians and allies within the Democratic Party to analyze his years of service to the country.
Mr. Biden also harbors ambitions to build a presidential center, expected to be located at the University of Delaware. However, the fundraising process for the project has not been favorable, as many donors remain disappointed regarding the way Mr. Biden exited the 2024 campaign.
Attorney John Morgan, once a major donor for Mr. Biden, argued that fundraising for the presidential center “will be seen as a major burden after all that has happened.”
Trump Claims Minnesota Fraud Exceeds $19 Billion, Blames Biden Administration
President Donald Trump on Saturday [Jan 31] lashed out at Democratic leaders over large-scale welfare and daycare fraud scandals in Minnesota, escalating his long-standing feuds with Representative Ilhan Omar—whom he called a “grifter”—and Governor Tim Walz, whom he characterized as either corrupt or incompetent.
“The theft and fraud in Minnesota is much larger than the $19 Billion originally projected,” Trump wrote in an early morning post on his ‘Truth Social’ media network.
“The Biden Administration knew that this FRAUD was taking place, and did absolutely nothing about it.”
Trump then focused his criticism on Omar and Walz—figures with whom he has repeatedly clashed over the years. “’Grifter’ Ilhan Omar and her very bad friends from Somalia should all be in jail right now, or even better, sent back to Somalia,” Trump wrote.
“‘Governor’ Waltz [sic] is either the most CORRUPT government official in history, or the most INCOMPETENT. Even a person with a very low IQ, of which there are many in Minnesota, would have to know what was going on in Minnesota!!!”
Trump has repeatedly targeted Omar in speeches and social media posts, mocking her, accusing her of being a “grifter,” and suggesting she should be deported from the United States. He has also accused Omar of immigration fraud by marrying her brother—an allegation Omar has repeatedly denied.
Earlier this week, after Omar was sprayed with an unknown substance during a constituent meeting in Minneapolis, Trump theorized without evidence that she might have staged the incident, once again calling her a “grifter.”
Omar stated that every time Trump uses what she calls “hate speech” targeting her and the Somali community, the number of death threats against her increases. Last month, she described Trump as “racist,” “bigoted,” “xenophobic,” and “Islamophobic” in response to his attacks.
Dozens of people—many of whom were born in Somalia or are Somali-Americans—have been indicted in Minnesota in recent years on charges related to large-scale welfare fraud rings, including food subsidies and services for people with autism.
Federal prosecutors allege these fraud schemes embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayer-funded programs. Separate investigations have also examined allegations of fraud within the state’s daycare system.
Trump and Walz have repeatedly clashed since Walz became the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, with Trump consistently linking the governor to the Minnesota fraud scandals and accusing him of weak leadership.
These attacks have intensified as the fraud investigations continue to proceed.
In a previous Truth Social post, Trump used a derogatory term to insult Walz, drawing widespread public condemnation and sparking a fierce political confrontation.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(736x317:738x319)/maria-corina-machado-donald-trump-101025-ae6e5dd9fc324ce1bdcca7134e2fe0b9.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "Nobel Snubs Trump After Year of Peacemaking; Award Goes to Venezuelan Opposition Leader")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/blake-lively-ryan-reynolds-112125-6d83ee2e446a4e7986a2027dc72f7f51.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "Justin Baldoni Confirms He Told Pregnant Blake Lively He Is Circumcised with Ryan Reynolds and 2 Nannies ‘Around’ Their Home")
