One Year Leading The US: President Biden Firmly Warns Russia, Calls Handling The Pandemic Unfinished

Presiden Joe Biden. (Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore)

JAKARTA - President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he had underestimated the extent of Republican opposition to his program, acknowledging Americans' frustration over the slow pace of COVID-19 testing, but saying the United States was on track to meet the big challenges of the pandemic and inflation.

Marking a year in his presidency, Democrat President Biden faced puzzling questions about the country's surging COVID-19 response, relations with Russia and the future of American democracy during a rare formal press conference.

Promising to confront what he called an unexpectedly "strong" opposition Republican, President Biden vowed to take his action directly to voters, as Democrats seek to maintain their congressional majority in the November 8 election.

"Our work is not done yet," said President Biden, whose approval rating has dropped in recent months, with COVID-19 hospitalizations hitting a record.

"Should we do more testing earlier? Yes," President Biden continued.

Asked if he had promised more than he could deliver, President Biden insisted: "I don't over-promise."

However, he admits that the typical economic and social spending law, Build Back Better, is dead in its old form. On the other hand, said President Biden, he hoped to get a 'big cut' from the bill, if not the full package.

With much of his domestic agenda at a standstill, President Biden also faces questions about rising tensions with Russia over military build-ups in and around Ukraine.

On the occasion, President Biden vowed to impose unprecedented sanctions if Russia invaded its European neighbour.

"Russia will be held accountable if it attacks. They will pay a heavy price," he stressed.

Aides said they envision the press conference as an opportunity to frame the president's approach for a second year. The broader message will follow when Biden delivers his State of the Union address to Congress on March 1.

Four-fifths of eligible Americans have received at least one shot of the vaccine, as the virus continues to kill nearly 2.000 people a day in the United States. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has fallen amid record job creation.

Meanwhile, President Biden's Democrats are struggling to maintain their control of Congress in the upcoming election, amid a flood of Republican-backed state laws that civil rights advocates say could suppress black and other minority voices.

To note, President Biden has held nine press conferences in total in his first year in office, including six solos, later than his predecessor (Donald Trump), according to the American Presidential Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.