As he hits the halfway mark of his term, how has President Biden fared in terms of his promises to the American left?
by Belén Fernández, Al Jazeera
In 2020, during his campaign for president of the United States, Joe Biden pledged to make Roe v Wade “the law of the land”. While the 1973 landmark ruling that legalised abortion nationwide was of course technically already the law of the land, its protections had been successively sabotaged in accordance with the national predilection for trampling on human rights.

Fast forward to June 2022, a year and a half into the Biden presidency, and the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade – a move that disproportionately harmed poor minority women and effectively aborted any pretences to progressivism on the domestic landscape.
Then in October, Biden promised to push to codify Roe into law if Democrats retained both houses of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Oops.
Now, as Biden hits the halfway mark of his term in January 2023, how has he fared in terms of his other promises to the American left? Granted, this can be a tricky subject for consideration, since any minor deviation from the dominant right-wing US discourse and devotion to neoliberal dystopia is often cast as radical leftism.
Recent Posts
(Not Quite) Tinder For New Activists: “Why Don’t We Already Have This?”
May 20, 2025
Take Action Now Many people are looking for a way to do something. They have heard that we the people — all of us — may be the last functioning…
What Could The Pentagon’s Record $1 Trillion Budget Pay For Instead?
May 20, 2025
Take Action Now President Trump is seeking a record $1 trillion budget for the Pentagon in 2026. What else could we do with that much money?By…
Trump Is Building A Global Gulag For Immigrants Captured By ICE
May 19, 2025
Take Action Now The U.S. is in talks with 19 nations, including Libya, Kosovo, Rwanda, and Moldova, to accept deportees from other countries.……
How To Fight Trump Without Caving To Corporatists
May 19, 2025
Take Action Now In this interview, Richard Eskow and Norman Solomon discuss how to combat Trumpism without turning to corporatists for their…