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Joe Biden
OpinionComment
Chi Wang
Chi Wang

Opinion | US in decline: why Joe Biden will struggle to return America to its golden age

  • America’s decline has happened over a longer period than just Trump’s four-year term, and it will take far longer to reverse it 
  • The country seems to be facing a profound identity crisis and an ideological divide more bitter and irreconcilable than ever in recent memory

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Chi Wang
In his speech at the State Department last month, US President Joe Biden dramatically pledged “America is back” and said the nation’s democratic values remain the “grounding wire” and “inexhaustible source of strength” of its global power.
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He made similar pledges in a virtual appearance at the Munich Security Conference on February 19, where he spoke to America’s “enduring advantages”. These sentiments were certainly true in the past, but with each new day, the United States appears increasingly in decline, and it remains to be seen whether American leadership will rise to the challenge to reverse this trend.

When I first arrived in the US from China in 1949, America’s strengths were undoubted. The nation had just emerged victorious over both Germany and Japan in World War II. While most nations engaged in the war were struggling to rebuild their infrastructure and economies, the US emerged largely unscathed and more economically and militarily powerful than ever.

America’s leadership and democratic institutions were likewise strong. Even after the unexpected death of president Franklin D. Roosevelt in April 1945, vice-president Harry Truman smoothly transitioned into the White House and guided the US through the end of the war.

The presidency would go through many challenges in the decades that followed – including an assassination and a resignation – but the endurance of the American leadership was never in any real doubt.
US President Joe Biden speaks while addressing the virtual Munich Security Conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington on February 19. Photo: The New York Times/Bloomberg
US President Joe Biden speaks while addressing the virtual Munich Security Conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington on February 19. Photo: The New York Times/Bloomberg

I believe that was the golden age of America. Of course, there was still domestic trouble in the US at the time. Republicans and Democrats fought partisan battles and levied accusations about communist conspirators. Racial discrimination and segregation still pervaded.

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