The Biden presidency
Our latest coverage of the politics, policies and people shaping America
Welcome to The Economist’s coverage of Joe Biden’s presidency. On this page you can find our reporting on his domestic and foreign policies, as well as other stories on American politics. You can also find our statistical analyses, data journalism and explanatory articles. To keep up to date, bookmark this page, follow along as we track shifts in American public opinion, listen to our weekly American-politics podcast, and sign up for our newsletter. If you are not already a subscriber you can unlock some of our content by registering here.
Latest stories
How Mexico has become the “enemy” of America’s Republicans
A growing number of them want to use military force against drug cartels
An abortion battle causes mayhem in America’s military ranks
A senator takes the culture war to the armed forces
Joe Biden should run against the Ivy League
The Supreme Court has given him the chance to restore his party’s commitment to uplift for all
Tony Evers’s veto shows the growing power of Midwestern Democrats
Will aggressive policymaking help or hinder the party?
Why affirmative action in American universities had to go
And why what comes after could be better
What MBS wants from Joe Biden
In return for recognising Israel, Saudi Arabia wants American weapons and nuclear technology
Domestic politics
Joe Biden should run against the Ivy League
The Supreme Court has given him the chance to restore his party’s commitment to uplift for all
Why Joe Biden’s trustbusters have fallen short of their ambitions
Blame flawed leadership and competing priorities
North Carolina may be the hottest political battleground of 2024
Political manoeuvring and changing demography are making it the most interesting state to watch
Republicans intensify their assault on city governments
A new phase in the American tussle between state and local powers
The bad bind bedevilling Mike Pence and Chris Christie
Former courtiers to Donald Trump try to take down their old boss
House Republicans are no closer to tying Hunter Biden’s activities to Joe
Yet the president’s wayward son could still cause Democrats damage
Domestic policy
The Supreme Court declines to upend American election law
A fringe theory gets a chilly reception from the justices
The South is fast becoming America’s industrial heartland
Joe Biden’s manufacturing boom is accelerating the region’s rise
America avoids financial Armageddon but stays in fiscal hell
High stakes but limited results from the country’s latest debt-ceiling drama
The moratorium on repaying student loans in America was a bad idea
How bad is now becoming clearer
Conservative Americans are building a parallel economy
For-profit polarisation
Joe Biden is more responsible for high inflation than for abundant jobs
The main effect of the president’s economic policies has been to boost prices
Foreign policy
Joe Biden and Narendra Modi are drawing their countries closer
India does not love the West, but it is indispensable to America
How the Pentagon thinks about America’s strategy in the Pacific
Our correspondent travels through Asia with Lloyd Austin, the defence secretary
America’s states are pursuing their own foreign policies
State legislatures are becoming another front in America’s clash with China
Joe Biden’s global vision is too timid and pessimistic
The president underestimates America’s strengths and misunderstands how it acquired them
The fault lines in America’s China policy
How to make sense of the cacophony inside and outside the White House
Why the China-US contest is entering a new and more dangerous phase
Chinese officials rage at what they see as American bullying