We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
AS RTÉ’S WASHINGTON Correspondent, Brian O’Donovan has had a front-row view of the USA’s biggest news stories.
Indeed, his reporting year kicked off in January with the storming of the US Capitol, an event which has culminated in multiple court cases over recent months.
As he prepares to finish up his role and head back to Ireland to take up the new role of RTÉ Work and Technology correspondent, O’Donovan returned to The Explainer podcast to talk about the year in news, 2021.
On today’s episode, you’ll hear him chatting with presenter Michelle Hennessy about President Joe Biden’s first year in the White House; some of the biggest news stories in the US in 2021; and what he learned from his time in America.
https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/interview-rtes-brian-odonovan-looks-back-on-bidens-first-year-as-us-president/s-aUMVhzzjLAW?si=16609a99678d4921bec2baadf683cf78&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
This episode was put together by presenters Michelle Hennessy and Gráinne Ní Aodha, and producers Aoife Barry and Nicky Ryan.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
He’s got a 38% approval rating. The only reason he hasn’t been moved aside under Article 25 of the Constitution is that his veep, Harris, is polling 22% approval.
Their only policy platform was Build Back Better, that’s dead in the water now because Manchin, a pragmatic Democrat senator from very Republican West Virginia, knows that $2.43 trillion of taxpayer money being used to create generational dependency on government assistance is not popular amongst voters.
The Lefts’ pushing of the 1619 project, as well as CRT, in the classroom is backfiring. Funnily enough, the 80% population who are white do not particularly like their children being taught in school that they are, by virtue of the colour of their skin, directly responsible for slavery and racism and have no legitimate defence against any argument by the “victim class”.
Over 1.7 million illegal aliens used unauthorized border crossing the Southern border from Mexico in the last 12 months, encouraged by his determination to look the other way. The assumption is that I’m my immigrants will vote for the party of state handouts and dependency.
His COVID response, and that of Democrat governors such as Cuomo and Whitmer, has been, on one hand, hyper-cautious to a fault (shutting schools and demanding mask-mandates for k-12), while in the other hand, emptying the elderly out of the hospital’s into the nursing homes, seeding them with COVID infection.
The disastrous withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan without holding onto Bagram airbase to provide cover, thus creating the circumstances where ten servicemen and women were killed while aiding the evacuation: and abandoning up to 10,000 US citizens and visa-holders to the Taliban; and creating an environment where up to 17 million Afganis are facing starvation.
The reasons not to vote for Biden in 2024 or other Democrats in the mid-terms next year are plentiful, and there’s little likelihood that they can reverse the damage that they have done in just one year alone.
@Brian Lenehan: Whale excrement. Manchin’s donors are from guess what sector? The failure of BBB is estimated to cost 1% of GDP in 2022 by an investment company that is so notorious that I shouldn’t need to name them. Coal workers in Manchin’s own state issued a statement criticising him last week. You posted partisan drivel.
@David A. Murray: That 1% of America’s GDP is approx 220 billion dollars.
@David A. Murray: You are the biggest cheerleader for democrats here, so much so I hope you are being paid for it, the comment you responded to is very valid, do you agree with white school kids being officially discriminated because of their colour? bidens approval is low, harris approval is even lower, the only reason they won the election is because google and facebook had a massive impact and directly got involved in the campaign for the dems, they even admitted as much afterwards, dems would let the country burn to get into power, in fact they almost did.
Your okay thanks Aoife but I think will skip that.
What a find scary is that every US President right up to now are and were Billionaires. Do I really need to say anymore.
@Norann Keohane: yes you do
@Norann Keohane: You can say the exact same thing about our taoiseach’s and half the presidents for that matter whats even more alarming is how rich our heads of states become AFTER leaving office.
@Norann Keohane: No president before Trump was a billionaire. Some were wealthy, but not remotely that wealthy. Btw, Trump’s actual wealth was estimated at one billion dollars in 2015 by David Cay Johnston.
@DJ François: There are other reasons for that too, e.g., a lot more young people voted for Biden (particularly in the 18-29 age bracket).
My apologies all Millionaires not Billionaires
@Norann Keohane: Still absolutely not correct and easily checkable in any case before posting.
@Adam Rekio: People in counties that voted for Donald Trump are nearly three times more likely to die from Covid-19 than those who live in counties that voted for Joe Biden.
Millionaires not Billionaires.
have your say