When announcing his candidacy for president in 2019, Joe Biden said, “We are in a battle for the soul of this nation.” In explaining the rationale for his campaign, he promised to restore America’s core values and unite the country by healing our divisions.

Four years later, how is America’s soul?

If there were any questions, an attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 answers any lingering doubts. Although Trump received only minor injuries, the bullet was millimeters from killing him. 

Tragically, an innocent bystander named Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter and father of two girls, died while throwing his body over his family and others to protect them. Two others were also injured.

Saturday put an exclamation mark on the condition of America’s “soul,” but it’s been a long journey to get here.

Immediately upon being sworn in, Biden decided to undo as much of his predecessor’s agenda as he could through Executive Orders (EOs).

As he promised during the campaign, Biden undid Trump’s immigration policies, including halting the “Remain in Mexico” Policy, requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while the U.S. processed their claims, and halted further border wall construction. Since then, at least ten million illegal immigrants have poured over the border from all over the world.

Also, on his first day in office, Biden revoked permits for the Keystone pipeline that would have transported crude oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Other EOs paused new oil and gas leases on federal lands and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Biden simultaneously pushed a green energy agenda and EVs. The administration’s policies are a factor in skyrocketing energy prices.

In March 2021, Biden signed his signature $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan.” Inflation heated up that month and continued for eighteen months to 40-year highs. Overall, prices have risen over 20 percent since Biden took office.

The Fed responded by raising interest rates to the highest in 25 years. First-time home buyers find homes out of reach today.

Biden tried to forgive hundreds of millions of dollars of student debt to buy youth votes where he has lost support. This debt isn’t “forgiven,” it is transferred to other taxpayers. When the Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional, Biden continued under a new program and bragged that he disobeyed the Supreme Court – something not even Nixon or Trump dared.

The withdrawal from Afghanistan was an unmitigated disaster. Despite being warned to leave a small contingent of troops, Biden proceeded with a botched withdrawal that cost thirteen brave service members their lives and left behind thousands who had helped the U.S. to face the wrath of the Taliban.

Adversaries like Vladimir Putin considered the Afghan debacle when deciding to invade Ukraine.

In 2023, the Biden administration gave Iran’s government access to $6 to $8 billion in previously frozen assets. While these funds were for humanitarian purposes, the money freed up other resources and likely helped Iran’s proxy Hamas’ October 7 attack against Israel.

Biden’s foreign policy has led to worldwide chaos in Ukraine, Gaza, and an emboldened China.

As Biden’s mental and physical condition deteriorated in the plain view of voters, Democrats, and the compliant press told the public that behind closed doors, Biden was as sharp as ever. When videos showed a dazed and confused president, his press secretary gaslit the public, claiming they were “cheap fakes.”

The debate on June 27, using rules determined entirely by Biden’s team, burst the bubble. It turns out that Fox News wasn’t faux, but CNN, MSNBC, and the rest of the fawning media had been gaslighting the public. After the Dominion Voting System case against Fox News, now let’s see the private conversations between CNN and MSNBC anchors – they knew. There was a massive conspiracy to hide the president’s condition from the public, and it almost worked.

The assassination attempt halted talk of removing Biden from the ticket – for now. However, Biden’s condition, most likely Parkinsonism, is progressive and will only get worse. We don’t know when he’ll have the next episode. We do (or should) know that it will happen – and in the not-too-distant future.

Biden’s most explicit promise to restore the soul of America was to unite the country by healing the divisions. And this is where he has failed most miserably.

In September 2022, Biden gave a speech in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the nation’s birthplace. Flanked by members of the apolitical Marine Corps and bathed in ominous red light, the speech became known as “The Dark Brandon Speech.”

Biden amped up his rhetoric from that point, as have other Democrats and the media. The constant name-calling of Mega-MAGA – and not just of Trump but also his supporters who are called horrible names. 

In a CNN interview in late 2023, Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters “cult extremists” and suggested they need “formal deprogramming” like at a reeducation camp.

In addition to the claims that Trump will be a dictator and that if he wins, it will be the last American election, there are the comparisons to Hitler. I can find 50 from ABC News, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other mainstream outlets – not fringe media or personalities. 

For those who want to blame Trump and his supporters, you’ll have a hard time finding examples where Trump supporters suggest Biden voters are in a cult, need reprogramming, are a basket full of deplorables, a danger to democracy, etc. The comments are limited to those in power, government, and the media, not voters. Conservatives also don’t call Biden, Hitler, or the end of democracy.

They’ve charged him with civil and criminal crimes. Penalized him hundreds of millions of dollars in absurd fines for real estate evaluations that banks agreed to and loans Trump paid back on time.

For the first time in U.S. history, the Justice Department of a sitting president is trying to prosecute the political opponent and former president. The FBI raided his home at gunpoint.

Organized efforts to keep Trump off the ballot were made and rejected unanimously by the Supreme Court.  

Rep Dan Goldman (D-NY) said, “President Trump should be eliminated.”

In reality, the campaign theme of the Biden campaign is that Trump is going to be a dictator, that democracy will end, and that he must be stopped at all costs.

In a July 8 call to calm donors after his debate performance, Biden said, “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.” The comment was part of the campaign’s message because they sent it to journalists after the call.

Biden spoke from the Oval Office Sunday night. He said the right things about deciding things at the ballot box, violence is not the answer, and cooling down the rhetoric. But he used moral equivalency and whataboutism.

Of course, he mentioned January 6, but not that one person died that day. Her name was Ashli Babbit, a Trump supporter killed by a Capitol Hill officer. Nor did he mention the riots across the country the prior summer.

He mentioned Paul Pelosi, and while that was a horrible incident, he left out that it was committed by an illegal alien in the country unlawfully.

He also didn’t take any responsibility nor promise to tone down his rhetoric.

To be clear, the responsibility for the assassination is with the shooter, Thomas Crooks, not what anybody said, but given everything that’s been said, what did those making such statements think would happen?

The campaign themes of Trump is Hitler; will be a dictator and end democracy, are over. Even the fawning press must not permit Biden and his surrogates to use those themes for the remainder of the campaign. We’ll see how long they can lay off before pulling the ripcord.

We learned something about Trump. With bullets whizzing through the air, he calmly got down – and those behind him followed. Then, with blood on his face and the Secret Service trying to rush him off the stage, he defiantly pumped his fists and showed the audience he was okay. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping saw that too.

We’re told Trump is selfish and doing this for himself. Millions of dollars in fines, the weight of the justice system trying to put him in jail, and now an assassin’s bullet ripping through his ear and killing a supporter. Maybe Trump’s soul has been thoroughly misjudged.

Trump will hopefully be a changed man, too. 

After everything he’s done, and that’s been done to him, he just had a close call with his mortality. When Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt, he believed he was spared for a purpose, which influenced his outlook and decision-making. I’ve approved of most of Trump’s policies but never his tone and words. If this incident changes his demeanor, Trump could accomplish so much more.

America’s soul is much less healthy than when Joe Biden declared he was running for president to save it four years ago. Whether comparing the nation’s domestic situation, the world stage, Biden’s ability to lead, and especially his efforts to unite the country, he has failed to live up to the central promise of his campaign. If for no other reason than that, his is a failed presidency.

Could Donald Trump actually heal the soul of America? We may find out.

Andy Bloom is President of Andy Bloom Communications. He specializes in media training and political communications. He has programmed legendary stations including WIP, WPHT, WYSP/Philadelphia, KLSX, Los Angeles, and WCCO Minneapolis. He was Vice President of Programming for Emmis International, Greater Media Inc., and Coleman Research. Andy also served as communications director for Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio). He can be reached by email at andy@andybloom.com or you can follow him on Twitter at @AndyBloomCom.