US President Joe Biden falls off his bicycle as he approaches well-wishers following a bike ride at Gordon's Pond State Park in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on June 18, 2022. Photo: AFP

For US President Joe Biden, the first Independence Day after he took office was bad. The second was even worse. The celebrations in the US were marred by a mass shooting incident on Monday at a parade in Highland Park, Illinois that killed at least six people. Prior to the celebrations, a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll on Friday showed that 71 percent of respondents polled do not think Biden should run for a second term. 45 percent of those who don't want Biden to seek reelection said it's because he's a bad president. 

When Biden vowed to usher in "a time to heal" after he claimed victory in November 2020, the American people cheered, believing his election "offered himself as a leader who seeks not to divide, but to unify a country gripped by a historic pandemic and a confluence of economic and social turmoil." However, a cold reality is the US under the presidency of Biden is closer than ever to the darkest moment. The epidemic in the US is still raging. Inflation has climbed to its highest level in nearly 40 years.

Biden grabbed the steering wheel of the US from Trump, but he didn't steer the US back to the right course. Instead, the US has deviated even more. Biden's governance philosophy is morbid. The US incompetent and ineffective response to the COVID epidemic caused chaos in the supply chains and soaring prices. But, instead of seeking to stabilize the global supply chains, the Biden administration banned imports of goods from Xinjiang citing the so-called excuse of forced labor, and it has instigated the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which caused global energy and food prices to skyrocket and has further worsened US inflation.  

Still the Biden administration is obsessed with being the "savior" of the world. Declaring to allies "the America is back," it has used every possible means to showcase US leadership and made waves overseas especially in Europe and the Asia-Pacific regardless of its problems at home. It spent too much attention and energy in rallying allies against Russia by exploiting the Russia-Ukraine conflict and forming small circles to confront China. How can the American public be confident that the Biden administration will devote itself to and be able to address domestic woes?   

Some Chinese scholars believe Biden has become a negative asset of the Democratic Party. The Biden administration, which has been in power for less than two years, is facing two major crises. The first is the midterm elections in November. Many analysts believe Democrats are likely to lose control of the US House and Senate, and Biden greatly risks becoming a lame duck president. The second is the 2024 presidential race. Former president Donald Trump has reportedly privately told allies and aides that he is seriously considering announcing a 2024 presidential run as early as this summer. Some predicted there is a big chance for Trump to win. If Trump is reelected, US division will become deeper. It won't be surprising even if there will be a nationwide version of the Capitol Hill riots. 

Degradation is only just beginning in the US. The US is sliding into a country without a sense of direction. To change requires systemic reform in the political, cultural, economic, and social dimensions. Unfortunately, it seems that no American political figure has the ability to promote and lead such a course. 

Biden administration has accelerated the decline of the US. More and more people believe that the country that deserves the most of the world's vigilance is the US. US elites tend to deal with internal crises by creating larger external crises. Problems that erupt in the US often could turn into global problems in an instant. It must be said that the US is now the biggest security risk in the world.