Joe Biden's presidential legacy

Diane Rehm: On My Mind

WAMU 88.5

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🗓️ 2 January 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

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Summary

January 20 will mark the end of the presidency of Joe Biden.

Biden came into office as the man who stopped Donald Trump, with promises of serving one term then passing the torch to the next generation.

His administration led the country out of the Covid crisis and included some blockbuster legislative successes, as well as a great deal of partisan gridlock. But it might be his decision to run again that will come to define his legacy.

“He decided to seek a second term and that proved a perilous decision,” says Susan Page, Washington bureau chief at USA Today, pointing out that many Democrats blame him for Trump’s victory in November.

And yet, she tells Diane on today’s episode of On My Mind, she considers Joe Biden to be a transformative president whose accomplishments could be felt for decades to come.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, it's Diane. On my mind, Joe Biden's legacy.
0:10.9	January 20th marks the end of the presidency of Joe Biden.
0:16.5	He came into office as the men who stopped Donald Trump with promises of serving one term,
0:25.2	then passing the torch. His administration led the country out of the COVID crisis,
0:32.3	included some blockbuster legislative successes, as well as a great deal of partisan gridlock.
0:41.6	But it might be his decision to run again that will come to define his legacy.
0:49.3	He decided to seek a second term.
0:50.9	I think that proved to be a perilous decision for him.
0:54.3	Susan Page is Washington Bureau Chief for USA Today. She's covered 12 presidential campaigns,
1:04.5	seven White House administrations, and has interviewed the last 10 presidents. I'm so happy to welcome her to my first podcast of 2025.
1:19.6	Susan, it's great to have you on for the first podcast of 2025.
1:27.1	So it's my honor to be on the first podcast of 2025.
1:31.3	And I just wonder how many times have we had this sort of conversation before when a new president's
1:36.8	taking over or an old president is leaving?
1:39.9	I can't imagine going back my 45 years on the air and on podcast.
1:48.8	But just to let you know, I did interview the late President Carter 12 times.
1:58.7	I think that probably set a record.
2:02.5	And what a great man.
2:04.1	What a great man.
2:04.7	He did all those books.
2:06.5	He did all those books on an incredible range of topics, many of them not related to politics at all.
2:12.7	The one on fly fishing, for instance, and the one on prayer.
	...

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