In a matter of months, Joe Biden will no longer be president. Try not to dance too hard. After years marked by unchecked inflation, a full-blown border crisis, spiking crime in major cities, and international tensions that brought wars closer to American homes, the Biden era is drawing to a close. Even his own party members, once loyal to his vision of “Build Back Better,” are now backing away. It’s hard to argue with the decision — after all, who could run on a record like this?
One by one, former allies started slipping away, finding themselves unable to defend his handling of everything from foreign policy to the economy. And now, the final chapter of Biden’s presidency has closed in a truly embarrassing way. The once-celebrated statesman is having a hard time securing one thing every president before him has managed: a legacy preserved in a presidential library.
President Joe Biden is reportedly struggling to raise the capital required to establish a presidential library, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, former presidents have privately built libraries where their personal and presidential letters are stored. Now, Biden is allegedly running into challenges raising between $200 million and $300 million, which his allies think will be necessary for him to establish his own, according to the WSJ. [Source: Daily Wire]
For Joe Biden, even the traditional honor of a presidential library is becoming a struggle. According to The Wall Street Journal, Biden is finding it tough to raise the $200 to $300 million needed to establish a place to house his presidential papers.
From Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Barack Obama, every U.S. president has raised private funds for a library where future generations can study their legacies. But for Biden? Well, the donor list isn’t exactly overflowing.
And here’s the kicker: Biden’s team can’t even get big-time Democratic donors on board. His “sherpa,” Steve Richetti, is leading the project, but even he is facing closed doors and hesitant donors.
Why? It turns out, Biden’s reputation as a weak fundraiser — one who refuses to woo donors with White House overnights or lavish perks — is back to haunt him. Democrats are standing by, holding onto their wallets, and waiting to see how the 2024 election shakes out. Apparently, no one wants to bankroll a president who left office with so much baggage.
So what’s stopping Biden’s presidential library from becoming a reality? It’s more than just a shortage of funds. According to WSJ, Biden’s early exit from the presidential race confused donors, who aren’t thrilled about his lackluster performance.
Some major Democratic players have already pulled their support, citing disillusionment with his leadership. For example, Abigail Disney, an influential Democratic donor, reportedly backed out after Biden’s infamous June debate flop. And she’s not alone.
While Biden insists that top universities — Syracuse, the University of Delaware, and the University of Pennsylvania, to name a few — are vying to host his papers, not everyone is convinced. Without a solid plan or steady donations, Biden’s presidential library may remain a distant dream.
Even if Biden’s team scrapes together the funds, his legacy itself remains a mixed bag. Biden’s presidency, once painted as a return to “normalcy” after the Trump era, quickly spiraled into chaos on several fronts.
From inflation to escalating crime rates to the mishandling of crises at the border, Biden’s policies have left America on shaky ground. His failure to address critical issues could leave his library — if it’s ever built — as a cautionary tale rather than a celebration.
Biden’s administration claimed that his leadership would restore America’s global standing. But instead, U.S. adversaries like China and Russia have become emboldened, while allies have raised eyebrows at his administration’s haphazard approach.
His foreign policy, marked by military missteps and unclear priorities, didn’t inspire confidence. Future historians may need a library to study what went wrong.
One would think that Biden’s decades of public service would draw some financial support, but mega-donors are keeping their distance.
Even traditional Democratic financiers are wary of backing a library project that may end up mired in Biden’s failures. And while Richetti and company continue their fundraising efforts, the response has been lukewarm at best.
In the meantime, Biden has tried to drum up enthusiasm by dropping names of universities like Syracuse and Delaware as potential library sites.
But without funds, the location debate is just wishful thinking. After all, Biden himself has been far from a magnet for donors throughout his career, and his presidency didn’t improve that record.
Author: Bo Dogan