If you believed President Joe Biden one month ago, you might think he is about to give you a $2,000 stimulus check.
Biden and the Democratic Party made it clear: give them a majority in the U.S. Senate by voting for both Democrats in the Georgia runoff elections, and the money will come. To some, that might sound like bribery, but then again, we’re in a downturn, unemployment is high, and millions of Americans are struggling. Regardless of how one feels about stimulus payments — whether you oppose them completely or favor recurring $2,000 monthly payments to everyone, including illegal aliens or somewhere in between — Biden made his stance clear.
Now? He backtracked.
Biden now wants to give people a $1,400 stimulus payment. The argument: that the $600 payment that Americans received last month plus $1,400 adds up to $2,000. But that’s not what Biden said: he promised $2,000.
Nor was it that long ago. Twenty-nine days ago, to be exact. He did so in a January 4, 2021 speech in Georgia on behalf of the two Democratic senators who won the January 5 election: Jon Ossoff and Ralphael Warnock.
“If you send Jon and the reverend to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door, restoring hope and decency and honor for so many people who are struggling right now,” Biden said in a speech posted on his Twitter account. “If you send Senators Perdue and Loeffler back to Washington, those checks will never get there. It’s just that simple. The power is literally in your hands.”
Then, six days later, a few days after the Georgia election results were official, Biden doubled down on his commitment to $2,000 stimulus checks. In a tweet that got over one million likes, Biden wrote, “$600 is simply not enough when you have to choose between paying rent or putting food on the table. We need $2,000 stimulus checks.”
This was a reference to the second round $600 stimulus checks that Congress approved in late December, despite former President Donald Trump wanting to give people $2,000 checks. That was January 10 — 23 days ago.
So how are those $2,000 checks that Biden promised looking now?
On January 14, Biden reversed course when he announced his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. He said, “Our rescue plan also includes immediate relief to Americans hardest hit and most in need. We will finish the job of getting a total of $2,000 in cash relief to people who need it the most. The $600 already appropriated is simply not enough.”
And this past weekend, the official Twitter account of the Democratic Party doubled down on Biden’s $1,400 remark, writing, “. @POTUS will build on the $600 down payment provided by Congress last year, sending an additional $1,400 to households across America, totaling direct payments to $2,000 per person.”
Wait … that’s not what Biden said when he was campaigning for Ossoff and Warnock.
Some of the replies to the Democratic Party’s tweet included, “lol this is such a terrible move after promising $2k”, “People don’t like it when you treat them like they’re stupid”, and “You guys are f—— clowns.”
The hashtag BidenLied trended on Twitter over the weekend in response to the tweet.
The anger is understandable. The people of Georgia listened to Biden and voted in two Democrats. More than 80 million Americans voted for Biden. Surely, many people believed him when he said $2,000 checks, and feel let down by him.
This isn’t about whether or not these checks are a good idea, but rather yet another example of how people who supported Biden in hopes of truth and decency — something they may feel Trump lacked — should prepare themselves for four years of disappointment.
