Where Are America’s Leaders?

As domestic and international crises multiply, it has become increasingly apparent that our country’s leaders have very little interest in actually leading our country. The Biden-Harris Administration’s poor preparedness in the face of natural disasters, failure to mitigate or avoid labor strikes, and passivity as America’s allies come under attack demonstrate an alarming absence of authority at a time when strong American leadership is sorely needed.

This week, members of the International Longshoremen’s Association, who enable ports up and down America’s East Coast to function, went on strike, citing their desire for a 77% raise in pay and a stop to the modernization of our port systems. At a time when American families are already facing high inflation, this strike – if long-lasting – could have resulted in supply shortages and higher prices. Whatever one’s thoughts may be on the strike itself, though, the central problem here has nothing to do with unions or the fact that it was resolved quickly. This strike is the direct result of the failed leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration.

Global shipping rates are much higher today because it has become riskier to ship goods around the world during the Biden-Harris Administration’s tenure. It was Biden and Harris who enriched Iran, removed the Houthis’ terror designation, and then permitted the Houthis’ ongoing, Iranian-supported blockade of the Red Sea, which has greatly increased shipping prices around the world.

Additionally, the Biden-Harris team knew this strike was possible because the union had been making these demands for months. Instead of using the power of the federal government to avert this strike – including threatening to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, as President Ronald Reagan did in 1981 with air traffic controllers and as President George W. Bush did in 2002 to open 29 ports – it has essentially ignored the problem. Worse, Biden, afraid to incur any kind of political penalty with union bosses, has actively supported the strike and refused to intervene. From beginning to end, the longshoremen’s strike is yet another instance of failed leadership from this Administration, and the American people will be the ones who pay the price.

Our leaders’ conduct amid the disastrous impact of Hurricane Helene has reflected the same pattern. New reports have revealed that Kamala Harris had not attended any hurricane readiness briefing by FEMA during her tenure as Vice President. For reference, both President Trump and Vice President Pence held hurricane preparedness meetings each year during the Trump Administration before the hurricane season began. While President Biden held these same meetings in 2021, 2022, and 2023, there is no indication that such meetings were held this year, and it seems Kamala Harris skipped every single one of them.

Finally, we have the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing strategic flop in the Middle East, of which the Red Sea crisis is just one part. Following Israel’s tremendous and rapid campaign to utterly degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities, which included the elimination of its leader and Iranian stooge Hassan Nasrallah, Iran responded by launching nearly 200 ballistic missiles at the Jewish state. While Israel’s Iron Dome was fortunately able to thwart most of the attacks, this was a clear escalation from Iran to which Israel may need to respond in order to maintain deterrence with the regime.

Unfortunately, in the days that have followed, Biden and Harris have sent mixed signals on America’s support for Israel as it decides how to respond. While Harris stated that her “commitment to the security of Israel is unwavering,” Biden stated that he did not support Israeli strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program and that he felt Israel must only “respond proportionally” to the attack.

This mixed messaging only encourages further Iranian aggression. As Senator J.D. Vance rightly stated at the vice presidential debate this week, America should support Israel fully in how it chooses to respond. Indeed, we should have spent the past four years actively deterring Iran by aggressively enforcing sanctions, executing precision strikes when necessary to keep our own military safe, and supporting Israel every step of the way. Instead, the Biden Administration’s passivity and appeasement have emboldened Iran to strike again and again.

Having served as CIA Director and Secretary of State, I know from experience that the essential responsibilities of leading the country, even at the highest levels of our government, are often not glamorous. Hurricane preparedness briefings don’t produce impressive photo ops. Doing the hard and continuous work of maintaining our nation’s economic well-being won’t produce snappy soundbites or popular social media content. Even maintaining deterrence with our adversaries and keeping our soldiers safe requires daily work and negotiations that often go unseen. When our leaders fail to fulfill these responsibilities, though, the American people pay the price. This is why America must have serious leaders who view every part of their job as a sacred duty.

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