Joe Biden leaves a polling station in Manchester, N.H., February 11, 2020. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Mr. President, in 2018, you stated that any “policy that separates young children from their parents isn’t a deterrent, it’s unconscionable.” You claimed that the child-separation policy first implemented under the Obama administration and later used by the Trump administration was “abhorrent” and threatened “to make us a pariah in the world.” Yet, as we speak, the same policies are still being implemented by your administration at the border, except a far larger number of children have been separated from their families than ever before. Why did you allow unconscionable and abhorrent policies to continue as president?
Your administration has claimed that a vaccine-distribution plan “did not really exist” when you took office. In reality, vaccinations had already topped a million per day by the time you were inaugurated. Isn’t your “100 Million Shots in 100 Days” plan really just the same as the Trump administration’s plan? If not, what is the difference?
Why do you, a person who has been immunized, often wear a mask when in a room with others who have been immunized? What is the science behind it? Are you at all concerned that this kind of needless precaution helps undermine the positive news about vaccines – which have been shown to be 100 percent effective in saving the lives of those who come in contact with COVID-19?
Your “White House Gender Policy Council” is about to roll back Title IX reforms for students accused of sexual assault. Do you believe it’s okay for the accused to be denied the ability to question their accusers? Or to be denied the right to review the allegations? Or denied the ability to present evidence or call witnesses? Do you believe students deserve the same presumption of innocence that you enjoyed when you were accused of sexual assault by Tara Reade?
During most of your 50 years in Washington you opposed government funding for abortion. You changed your mind just last year. Now you support allowing taxpayer dollars to be used – even in late-term abortions of viable babies. What made you change your mind? Do you still support the so-called “Biden amendment” to the Foreign Assistance Act, which bans any American foreign aid from being used in research related to abortions? Can you name a single abortion restriction that a Biden administration would support? If so, what is it?
As president-elect, you promised you would provide Americans with $2,000 stimulus checks. Democrats control both Houses of Congress, and yet the check was $600 smaller — despite the stimulus bill being $2 trillion. At best, a tenth of that money is going to be spent on direct COVID relief. Do you regret signing a bill that sends hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out city governments in cities like San Francisco, and fund teachers’ unions, an expansion of Obamacare, and other unrelated issues, rather than pandemic help?
Gas prices have been rising. Yet, you’ve embraced Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal as a framework for your energy policy. On numerous occasions you backed bans on fracking, later pulling back from that position. Can you specifically explain how you will achieve your promised goal of “a 100 percent clean-energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050” without restricting affordable fossil fuels and without building new nuclear power plants?
After the horrific shootings in Georgia and Colorado, you called on the Senate to pass “universal background checks” as a “commonsense” step in stopping mass shootings. Yet, both shooters in question had already passed background checks. Colorado, in fact, has a universal background check. You have also brought up an “assault-weapon” ban, as well. Why are you prioritizing policies that would do nothing to stop this kind of gun violence?
On that note, this week Politico reported that your son Hunter likely lied to the FBI on a background check form to purchase a firearm. Do you believe that existing firearms laws should be more vigorously enforced before passing new ones?
As a candidate in 2019, you argued that one “can’t” govern “by executive order unless you’re a dictator. We’re a democracy. We need consensus.” Yet, Democrats not only pushed through a massive bill on a partisan vote, you are reportedly in favor of weakening, or perhaps getting rid of, the filibuster, so that Democrats, even with a narrow majority, can avoid consensus-building and pass bills without a single Republican. Additionally, before even approaching Congress, you signed more consequential executive orders than most presidents do in their entire term. Even the New York Times has noted that “is no way to make law.” Do you feel like you’ve broken another campaign promise by governing in a wholly partisan way?
Democrats are in the midst of trying to pass H.R. 1 and overturn hundreds of state voting laws and restrict political speech for citizens. Do you agree with them that the federal government should force states to count mail-in votes that arrive up to ten days after Election Day? Will you sign a bill that forbids states from asking voters for photo IDs? Or one that forces states to legalize voting for convicted felons?
To this point, critics say your administration has been the least transparent in modern history. Your administration, for instance, continues to deny journalists access to border facilities, and this press conference is among the latest first presidential press conferences in history. Will you be taking questions from the press on a more regular basis now, or only once every three or four months?
