The Biden Administration did not take Place

Reflections on a presidential simulacrum

Guided by Jean Baudrillard’s notorious essay “The Gulf War did not take place,” I’ve written a brief assessment of the simulated presidency of Joe Biden for Compact magazine:

According to one recent poll, Joe Biden leaves office as the most unpopular president in modern history. Although he was blamed for everything from inflation to the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden’s presidency was a cipher. It’s rather hard to pinpoint decisions for which Biden is directly responsible. Instead of blaming Biden for the past four years, we should consider an alternative thesis: Like the Gulf War, the Biden administration did not take place.

Read the rest at Compact. If paid subscribers run into a paywall, email me at nathan.pinkoski@gmail.com and I’d be pleased to share a pdf with you.