By Jeremy Scahill, The Intercept

There can be no doubt that in rejecting Donald Trump, voters in the United States removed one of the most cold-hearted, openly racist, and bigoted administrations to govern the U.S. in modern history. There are tangible Trump policies, including on immigration, that Joe Biden can, and almost certainly will, change that will have a direct, significant impact, particularly on some of the most vulnerable people in society. Biden has promised to swiftly roll back scores of Trump’s dangerous edicts. Extreme right-wing forces in the U.S. will lose their unprecedented kinship with a sitting president who has constantly used his office to embolden, encourage, and defend them. All of this is welcome news.

At the same time, the nomination and election of Joe Biden should not be construed as a major leap forward. The Democrats’ victory in the general election was made possible by the horrifying death toll of the Covid-19 pandemic and the criminal recklessness of the Trump administration, rather than an enthusiastic embrace of Biden’s policies, ideas, or his nearly half-centurylong record in public office. For millions of voters, this was not a choice between Biden and Trump — it was a referendum on Trump, and Biden’s name on the ballot was a stand-in for “No!”

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