A calmer 100 days with Joe in office

THE past week marked Joe Biden’s hitting of the milestone of 100 days in office.

Whatever you think of his politics, it is certainly true to say that a sense of calm has descended on Washington in recent weeks – relatively, speaking, of course.

Trump’s presidency has to be seen as one of the most disruptive and divisive presidencies in modern times. It was dogged with scandals, outrageous behaviour and a rush from academics and public servants to write ‘reveal all’ books telling us about some very bizarre goings-on inside The White House.

Surely anyone with a modicum of decency would have breathed a sigh of relief to see Biden take the reins just over 100 days ago. If you don’t agree with his policies, you can surely agree that the issues, and not the man, have, appropriately taken centre stage once more.

There is possibly some truth in the theory than no angels find themselves with the top job in US politics, but when compared with the previous incumbent, Biden certainly appears to be cut from a different cloth.

His forging ahead with the country’s vaccine programme now sees it with the third best programme in the world – only behind Israel and the UK in the number of vaccines it has administered, per head of population.

And Biden’s determination to be a ‘president for all’ has helped to turn down the volume when it comes to debates on racial issues.

What’s more, his speech to Congress, flanked by two women (vice-president Kamala Harris and speaker Nancy Pelosi), further hammered home the message of inclusion.

President Biden is likely to get a very warm welcome on these shores when he returns to his ancestral home in the months to come.