Go Big or Go Home

Joe Biden tackled Covid and an economic crisis in his first 100 days. It won’t get easier from herea

- By Josh Wingrove and Nancy Cook

At 78, establishment stalwart Joe Biden returned to Washington as the leader of a party seeking a revolution. A moderate and a vocal defender of bipartisanship, he forced a sweeping, progressive aid package through Congress without a single Republican vote. Long known for making gaffes, he has so far governed in a hyper-disciplined manner. Is this the Joe Biden America thought it knew?

Longtime friends and allies of the president say he hasn’t changed, the moment and political opportunity have. “I think in some ways, he and I share one thing: We believe in what FDR was doing. You have to meet the moment,” says Bob Casey, a Democratic senator from Pennsylvania who lives in Scranton, Biden’s hometown. “I think he knows we’re in a unique moment. It’s a moment of crisis and a moment of great opportunity to lift the country up.”

Biden entered the Oval Office in January with Covid-19 cases coming off fresh highs, millions out of work, rising calls for racial justice, and a climate crisis. Americans were reeling from the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and hungover from a presidency conducted largely by tweet. Biden’s empathy and history of personal loss underpin his response to the Covid pandemic, and they’ve shifted the tone in Washington. Donald Trump’s White House was chaotic; with Biden, an impromptu visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at dusk is about as spontaneous as it gets.