President Biden on Tuesday evening claimed that the coronavirus “no longer controls our lives” and bragged that “we have broken COVID’s grip on us,” despite the fact that Biden, upon taking office, attempted to force the vaccine on workers and pushed mask mandates for well over a year after promising masking for “just” 100 days.
“Two years ago, COVID had shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much. Today, COVID no longer controls our lives,” Biden said during the State of the Union address, failing to note the ways his administration extended coronavirus-related mandates and rules, negatively affecting the lives of millions.
Biden said, seemingly taking credit for the country opening back up and removing the virus’s grip:
And folks, in the midst of the COVID crisis when schools were closed, let’s also recognize how far we’ve come in the fight against the pandemic itself. While the virus is not gone, thanks to the resilience of the American people, we have broken COVID’s grip on us. COVID deaths are down nearly 90 percent
“We’ve saved millions of lives and opened our country back up. And soon we’ll end the public health emergency. … But we will remember the toll and pain that will never go away for so many,” he continued, later adding that “we still need to monitor dozens of variants and support new vaccines and treatments.”
Despite Biden’s celebration of the coronavirus no longer having a grip on the country, his administration prolonged mandates and restrictions. Biden originally pushed for “just” 100 days of masking — a vow that he broke, still pushing masks one year after taking office. Further, the mask mandate for public transportation only ended after a federal judge struck down the rule in April 2022. The Biden administration is not done fighting that, either, as the Biden Justice Department is actively working to reverse the decision.
Further, Biden tried to force the vaccine mandate on tens of millions of American workers through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which the Supreme Court struck down last year. That reflected another broken promise, as Biden stated in December 2020 that he “wouldn’t demand” mandatory coronavirus vaccines.
“No. I don’t think it should be mandatory. I wouldn’t demand it be mandatory,” he said at the time, adding, “But I would do everything in my power — I don’t think masks need to be made mandatory nationwide.”