President Joe Biden held a press conference near the one-year anniversary of his inauguration as the 46th president of the United States. He came into office amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has now taken the lives of almost 900,000 Americans, rising inflation and voting rights issues. 

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Voting rights has been a key issue for a lot of Americans, especially Black voters, who were largely responsible for putting Biden in the White House. Amid all of the recent difficulties in passing voting rights legislation, there is a growing sense of frustration and a belief that the president does not have the backs of Black voters, even though he disagrees. In fact, Biden said that voting rights issues are what first got him involved in politics. 

“I think part of the problem is there’s significant disagreement in every community on whether or not the timing of assertions made by people is been in the most timely way,” said Biden. “I have not been out in the community nearly enough. I’ve been here an awful lot. I find myself in a situation where I don’t get a chance to look people in the eye because of both COVID and things that are happening in Washington.” 

When the president was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he said that he got the Voting Rights Act extended for 25 years. Despite states changing their voting laws, Biden believes that people of color will get out to vote in the upcoming elections. 

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“I think if, in fact, no matter how hard they make it for minorities to vote, I think you’re going to see them willing to stand in line and defy the attempt to keep them from being able to vote,” he said. 

Biden commended his American Rescue Plan for record job creation and economic growth. He also spoke about people’s frustrations with the pandemic ignited by the omicron variant, which Biden called “the new enemy.” He believes that America is in a different place now because of the vaccine, booster shots and masks that save lives.