London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

Did Joe Biden just end the pandemic?

Did Joe Biden just end the pandemic?

No, he didn’t make good on his campaign promise to “shut down the virus,” but by seemingly admitting defeat against Covid-19, Biden has opened a clear path to ending onerous pandemic restrictions and returning to normality.

President Joe Biden admitted on Monday that “there is no federal solution” to the Covid-19 pandemic. The statement paves the way for his mandates to be scrapped, but don’t expect liberals to go along willingly.

Speaking during a teleconference with governors, Biden followed this statement up by declaring that the pandemic “gets solved at the state level,” before shuffling onto a helicopter and departing for his home state of Delaware.


Delegating responsibility to the states was essentially the approach of Donald Trump, and a return to this policy represents a complete reversal of Biden’s campaign-trail promise to use the might of the federal government to “shut down the virus.” Far from shutting down the deadly pathogen, Biden has presided over more Covid-19 deaths than his predecessor and a current daily caseload higher than at any point since his inauguration.

Biden will be hammered for this failure by Republicans, but it’s as much a triumph of nature as a failure of government. The Omicron variant driving the latest surge in cases is highly transmissible, and early studies suggest that vaccines may be ineffective at stopping its spread. Likewise, areas of the country with strict masking and ‘vaccine passport’ requirements are experiencing unprecedented surges in transmission.

Against bureaucracy, Omicron is winning.

And Biden’s not the only high-level Democrat seemingly throwing in the towel. Asked by a reporter on Monday whether he’d reintroduce a mask mandate to “curb the spike,” Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont – whose own fully-vaccinated Christmas party has been branded a “super spreader” event – replied “Well, it’s not curbing the spike down in New York City.”

Meanwhile the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shortened its recommended quarantine time for people with Covid-19 from 10 days to five days, likely in a bid to save the economy from being ground to a halt by employees taking sick leave en masse as they come down with mild Omicron infections.

All of this signals a shift from containment to fatalism: accepting that Covid-19 cannot be stamped out, and must instead be lived-with. Many, particularly those on the right, have argued this from the outset, and other countries have grasped this reality already. South Africa – where Omicron was first reported – has stopped tracing and quarantining the contacts of Covid-19 cases, and now recommends that only those with symptoms “be tested and be managed according to the severity of the condition.”

Biden’s words on Monday were just words, and his administration’s onerous vaccine and mask mandates remain in place. Yet these words may have spelled the end for the mandates. The Supreme Court in January will hear challenges to two of these vaccine mandates – one affecting healthcare workers and another potentially affecting some 80 million private-sector workers – and it will likely be difficult for the federal government to make the case for compulsory vaccination when the head of the government has just admitted that solving the pandemic isn’t the government’s responsibility.

Should the mandates be stricken down, and there is every reason to believe they will be, the rulings would open the floodgates to further legal challenges. Biden’s masking requirement in federal buildings, along with similar rules for planes, trains and buses, could all be scrapped, as could vaccine requirements for federal workers and contractors.

Yet it’s foolish to believe that restrictions would be lifted nationwide overnight. Already, Covid policies vary drastically between blue and red states. The pandemic has essentially been over in Florida for a year or more, with no masking or vaccine requirements in place on a state level and with a governor, Ron DeSantis, fighting tooth and nail against federal mandates. New York, by contrast, is still gripped by pandemic fever, with even children having to show vaccine passes to eat indoors. Amid an historic crime wave, NYPD officers are being called to restaurants to haul out kids who haven’t had their shots. Covid case numbers in both states are broadly similar.


If Biden’s mandates were lifted, blue state liberals would beg their governors to fill the void. Even a cursory look at the online reactions to Biden’s statement on Monday reveals a whole swath of Democrat voters who are in no way ready to move past the pandemic. “What a pathetic excuse for a leader,” one liberal commenter wrote on Twitter, claiming that Biden is “leaving us all to die.”

Should federal mandates collapse, this hyperbole (Covid-19 deaths are dramatically lower than they were during previous surges, and the Omicron variant is significantly less deadly than previous strains) will be aimed squarely at Democrat governors, who will likely issue draconian edicts to satisfy their Covid-fearing base. This sizable bloc of Americans were even described by The Atlantic as “the liberals who can’t quit lockdown,” and they will surely demand that their leaders maintain the security theater.

Democrats and Republicans already read different media, buy different brands, and disagree on just about every issue of national importance. Absent nationwide mandates, crossing state lines could become an exercise in interdimensional travel, with the pandemic ceasing to exist in red states and continuing to rage in blue ones.

This would, of course, continue to expand the US’ mile-wide political divide. It could also fuel internal migration within the US, as Americans relocate to states more suited to their lifestyles. The liberal bastions of New York, California and Illinois saw the steepest population losses this year, with Florida, Texas, and Arizona seeing the most growth. Among other factors, the US Census Bureau attributes the blue loss and red gain to domestic migration.

Much of this is speculation, and hinges on an imminent court decision, as well as the assumption that the Omicron variant will remain a mild one. However, should this all come to pass, and should states chart their own, vastly different, courses on Covid-19, Biden can wave goodbye to another campaign promise: his pledge to “unify” and “heal America.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×