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Murphy: “Unpacking the first eight months of America’s most self-destructive presidency”

September 8, 2021

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) published an opinion column in the Washington Examiner in which he identifies the Top 5 Blunders of the Biden presidency: the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, broken promises, the rise in crime/defund the police movement, the Biden Border Crisis, and his unhinged tax-and-spend agenda.

"New presidents normally enjoy a yearlong honeymoon before they face intense public scrutiny," Rep. Murphy writes. "However, due to a series of catastrophic self-inflicted failures, President Joe Biden has prematurely received intense rebukes from voters. Public polling confirms this crisis of confidence. Biden's approval rating has dropped an astounding 16 points in the last three months, leaving many to question his capacity to serve as commander in chief."

You can read the full op-ed here:

Unpacking the first eight months of the country's most self-destructive presidency

New presidents normally enjoy a yearlong honeymoon before they face intense public scrutiny. However, due to a series of catastrophic self-inflicted failures, President Joe Biden has prematurely received intense rebukes from voters.

Public polling confirms this crisis of confidence. Biden's approval rating has dropped an astounding 16 points in the last three months, leaving many to question his capacity to serve as commander in chief. What's more, the New York Post recently reported that 6 in 10 voters believe the country has gone "seriously off track." Consumer confidence has also fallen to the lowest level since February.

Here are the top five blunders of the Biden presidency:

1. Disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal

While there was a national consensus that it was past time to leave Afghanistan, most people believe Biden's failed withdrawal from Afghanistan was a massive disaster. His haphazard and poorly calculated withdrawal led to the death of 13 U.S. service members , put countless Americans and trusted allies in peril, and tarnished our international reputation. It may take generations to earn back worldwide trust.

Yet, throughout this crisis, many feel we have had a callous and incoherent president who preferred to check his watch throughout a tearful and dignified fallen service member transfer ceremony rather than honor them. All people are demanding answers as to why Biden failed to anticipate the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan and why he asked the Afghan president to lie about it. Biden's chaotic withdrawal is inexcusable, unforgivable, and pushed only for political gain.

2. Broken promises

During his inauguration, Biden promised that he would govern for all people. Instead, Biden has delivered the single most radical and divisive agenda in our nation's history. He has not sought consensus in governing as promised but has been single-minded in pushing his partisan agenda.

Unfortunately, Biden's broken promises go far beyond campaigning, as just a few weeks ago, Biden promised that he would not leave Americans stranded in Afghanistan. Yet, when the last military plane departed from Kabul last week, hundreds of Americans and our allies were left at the mercy of terrorists. Our friends around the world are now questioning our allegiance to our own citizens, not to mention our commitment to international partnerships.

3. Defunding the police

It's no secret that far-left progressives are pulling the strings of Biden's agenda. As a result, the radical and senseless "defund the police" movement has not only come to define the Democratic Party, but its civil unrest mantra has put our communities and law enforcement in danger.

The results are evident. Last summer, Los Angeles defunded the LAPD by $150 million. One year later, homicides are up 41%. Over the same period, New York defunded the NYPD by an astounding $484 million, and reported shootings have skyrocketed 64%. This self-inflicted crime crisis, a direct result of anti-police rhetoric, has become a public safety disaster.

4. Biden's border crisis

One of Biden's first acts as president was to unravel the commonsense border protections put in place under former President Donald Trump. In doing so, Biden told the world that our borders were open and our rule of law would not be enforced. Once Biden began to see the national security implications of his open border policies, Biden charged insouciant Vice President Kamala Harris with leading his debacle. Since then, the crisis has only deteriorated.

Tragically, this administration is on pace to allow 1.7 million illegal immigrants into the United States by the end of 2021. Biden's self-inflicted border crisis is a direct result of his inability to form a cogent national security policy.

5. Tax-and-spend agenda

Thanks to Biden's nonstop tax-and-spend agenda, inflation is at its highest rate in 40 years. Now, nearly 9 in 10 people have reported a concern about the rising cost of living. High inflation is a disproportionate tax on the poor in this country, and big government spending only makes it worse.

In Biden's economy, everyone must spend more to get less. His creation of an artificial economic crisis, where people are paid not to work, has led to astounding unemployment while at the same time a record demand for jobs. This myopic economic agenda hinders growth, hurts long-term investments, and supports our economic adversaries, including Communist China. While Biden promised to govern as a centrist, he has undoubtedly ruled as a socialist.

Fortunately, as evidenced by Biden's plummeting approval numbers, people are seeing through this hollow and incoherent presidency. We can only hope that the sum of Biden's blunders is not so great that we cannot turn the ship around, starting with retaking the House in 2022.

Greg Murphy represents North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Issues:Economy