President Joe Biden’s mistake is somewhat understandable.
As Democrats engage in post-election self-flagellation, and pundits point to poor messaging and an inability to quell voter concerns about inflation to explain Kamala Harris’ loss, everyone seems to be ignoring how President Joe Biden’s biggest mistake by far cost the Democrats not just the presidency, but the House and Senate too.
Inaction at the border? The Afghanistan withdrawal? Not resigning the presidency?
All enormous errors, but not his worst. No, his worst error—and the thing that will forever stain what was otherwise an admirable presidency—was his failure to arrest former President Donald Trump on Jan. 21, 2021.
I am not arguing, as others have, that Biden should have arrested Trump because Trump was later able to resurrect his candidacy and succeed against the Democrats. Such an argument is morally flawed. In fact, it’s so morally flawed, it’s been pushed by Trump himself.
My argument, rather, is that by failing to arrest Trump immediately, Biden allowed the seriousness of Trump’s treasonous acts to diminish in the public’s collective memory, granting Trump’s supporters and others who might be swayed to his side the chance to believe that it was an open question as to whether or not he’d engaged in insurrection (when it definitely was not). It allowed the media, too, to make it seem like less than a fact, engaging in the usual horserace political coverage once it was election season, even though one of the candidates was a would-be usurper.
