WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden signed a year of loss and disruption on Thursday and signed the $ 1.9 trillion aid package designed to help the US beat the coronavirus and restore the economy to health.
The signing came hours before Biden sent his first prime-time address since he took office. He wants to steer the nation towards a hungry mood – hope – as it marks a year since the pandemic broke out that killed more than 529,000 Americans.
“This historic piece of legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” said Biden as he signed the bill in the Oval Office.
Biden originally planned to sign the bill on Friday, but it got to the White House sooner than expected.
“We want to move forward as soon as possible,” tweeted White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. He added, “We will celebrate the signing on Friday as planned with the leaders of Congress!”
Previewing his remarks, Biden said he would “talk about what we went through as a nation over the past year, but more importantly, I’ll talk about what’s next.”
Biden’s challenge on Thursday evening will be to honor the sacrifices Americans have made over the past year and encourage them to remain vigilant in the face of the tempting promise of vaccines, despite “virus fatigue” and growing impatience to resume normal activities . On the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s pandemic declaration, he will mourn the dead, but also project optimism for the future.
“This is a chance for him to really shine in everyone’s living room and be both the mourner and the explainer as he is leading the country out of this situation,” said Rice University presidential historian and professor Douglas Brinkley.
“This is a big moment,” added Brinkley. “He has to win hearts and minds for people so that they remain masked and get vaccinated, but also recognize that the federal government has not forgotten you after last year.”
Biden’s evening remarks in the East Room are central to a crucial week for the president as he grapples with the crucial challenge of his term in office: leading the nation through the dual public health and economic storms caused by the virus.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published initial guidelines on how vaccinated people can resume some normal activities. On Wednesday, Congress approved the president’s $ 1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, designed to mitigate the virus’ economic impact on tens of millions of people. And the nation was well on its way to delivering its 100 millionth vaccine dose as early as Thursday.
Biden said he will focus his remarks on what his government wants to deliver in the coming months, but will also reiterate his call for Americans to continue practicing social distancing and wearing face covers in an effort to hasten the end of the pandemic.
“I will take the next phase of the COVID response and explain what we are doing as a government and what we are going to ask the American people to do,” he said.
He added, “At the end of that dark tunnel of last year, there is light. There is real reason to be hopeful. “
Almost exactly a year ago, President Donald Trump addressed the nation to mark WHO’s declaration on a global pandemic. He announced travel restrictions and urged Americans to practice good hygiene, but showed little concern about the impending disaster. It was later revealed that Trump had deliberately “downplayed” the virus threat.
Finding the right balance “between optimism and sadness,” said Princeton history professor and presidential scholar Julian Zelizer is imperative for Biden, who has pledged to measure himself against the American public on the alternate reality of Trump’s virus talk.
“In general, the country likes optimism and at this particular moment they are desperate for optimism, but you cannot risk a mission accomplished moment,” he said, warning of an untimely statement that the threat has been defeated.
Fifty days after his presidency, Biden experiences a honeymoon that his predecessor never enjoyed. Still, public sentiment remains persistently polarized, and fewer people among his critics seem willing to say they’ll give him a chance than previous presidents have. Overall, he has earned good grades in dealing with the pandemic.
According to a poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs released last week, 70% of Americans support the Democratic president’s handling of the virus response, including 44% Republicans.
The White House hopes the Republican-popular elements of the $ 1.9 trillion bill will add even more support as Biden takes on the role of cheerleader for the virus relief package.
Brinkley said Biden’s decision to deliver a speech aimed directly at the nation before delivering the president’s traditional address to a joint congressional session signals that it will also “introduce” the president and his administration to the American people like a status report is in his first 50 days in office.
Presidential addresses to Congress “are typically a series of soundbites,” Brinkley said. “In this way he can represent his case directly.”
Still, the prime-time speech is in many ways an anachronism, better suited to a time when Americans had far fewer television options and when a presidential address could reshape the national conversation.
The fragmented media landscape makes it difficult for Biden to reach people, Zelizer said, but that might be secondary.
“All he does is relapse,” said Zelizer. “It’s part of his effort to restore normalcy after the past four years.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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