Biden's big Omicron gamble
President Biden walked a fine line between sounding urgent and reassuring, concerned and confident, worried and resolute in remarks delivered at the White House on Tuesday afternoon.
He downplayed the danger of the Omicron variant for Americans who've gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 and received booster shots. But he also warned of dire consequences for those who have resisted vaccination and spoke of living through a "critical moment" testing us "as a people and as a nation," demanding courage and sacrifice.
Whether Biden managed to strike the right balance is something we won't be able to judge until we've seen how events unfold over the coming weeks.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In the halting, somewhat slurred delivery we have come to expect from the president, Biden laid out ways the federal government will seek to provide Americans with support to get through the building Omicron surge. A thousand military doctors, nurses, and medics will be deployed around the country to buttress hospital staff in virus hot spots. And beginning in January, 500 million rapid at-home tests will be made available for free to anyone who needs them.
Those and other initiatives are welcome, but will they be enough? A thousand medical workers spread over a continent-wide country of 330 million people is a miniscule drop in an enormous bucket. A government that spends nearly $7 trillion a year supplying an average of 1.5 free tests per person after several weeks' delay is absurd, inadequate, and unconscionably slow. But that's all that Biden was prepared to offer.
At the conclusion of his remarks, Biden sounded defensive in response to a reporter's question about whether his administration dropped the ball in not making these and other moves sooner. That's understandable. The president wasn't wrong to point out the incredible speed of Omicron's spread. Yet it's also true that we're nearly two years into this pandemic; other countries have been handing out rapid, at-home tests for months; and the rise of new variants should have caught no one at the White House by surprise.
Biden is taking a big gamble. If Omicron continues to move quickly, surging and fading within a few weeks and proving mild for most, his restrained response will look like a cool-headed and wise reaction to fast-moving events. But if things go sideways through and after the upcoming holidays, as they often have with COVID, the president will face a lot of difficult questions about why his administration responded to a critical moment with so little urgency and alarm.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.
-
'Democrats now have a chance to present a vigorous, compelling case'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
How Black organizations quickly pivoted and mobilized for Kamala Harris
In the spotlight Harris has a shot at being the first Black woman to lead the Democratic ticket
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'Spare us the charade'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
How Biden's enablers may have delayed his bowing out
Talking Points Joe Biden's inner circle faces calls for a reckoning for allegedly shielding the president — and the public — from questions of aging and electoral viability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden ends reelection bid, endorses Harris
Speed Read The sitting president gave his VP full support to replace him atop the Democratic ticket
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Can Kamala Harris beat Trump?
Today's Big Question Some senior Democrats are unsure the vice-president can win in November even as party closes ranks behind her
By The Week UK Published
-
Pelosi and Obama add to doubts over Biden
Speed Read Both Democrats think the president should reconsider his reelection campaign, insiders say
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden tests positive for Covid in fresh blow to campaign
Speed Read The president said he would consider dropping out of the race if presented with a "medical condition"
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The Democrats 'resigned to a second Trump presidency'
Talking Points Did the assassination attempt end Biden's election chances?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published