President Biden is calling for unity to address each of the nation’s concurrent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy, race relations and climate change.
It won’t be easy because as he settles into office, Biden also inherits a country that is deeply divided. Democrats and Republicans live in very different worlds and get their news and information from very different places, cordoned off by ideology and worldview.
Bringing America together when the trials it faces are, in many cases, the most dire they’ve been in recent history will prove difficult. And Biden is not shying away from bold initiatives, many of which Republicans are sure to disagree with.
Here’s a look at six numbers that highlight the challenges Biden now faces:
75%
Americans are the most pessimistic they have been in decades about the direction of the country.
In the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey, 75% of Americans polled said they think the country is heading in the wrong direction, the highest since 1992. On the heels of Biden’s win, Republicans’ negative outlook, in particular, has increased significantly.
Nine in 10 Democrats disapproved of the job Trump was doing, but 8 in 10 Republicans approved. Now, 7 in 10 Republicans don’t think Biden was legitimately elected.
So bringing Americans together is going to be an immense challenge for Biden.
400,000
More than 24 million Americans have contracted COVID-19 and more than 400,000 have died, a number once unthinkable. That number is only climbing. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects that more than 566,000 Americans will be dead from the coronavirus by May 1. Even with universal mask-wearing and a rapid vaccine rollout, at least 500,000 are projected to have died by then.
