The politics of our country are an important topic that has always fascinated people. Many things have happened; there are many stories that we can explore and learn about, but today we are going to take a look at more recent events.
What are the highlights of the political landscape in 2022? What important events took place in 2022? If you ask us, there was a lot going on in politics in 2022. From the historical abortion ruling to the midterm election, things are moving fast in this country, and we were here to see them.
Stay with us, and let’s take a look at some of the most important political stories of 2022. Which one do you think is the most significant?
1. Russia invades Ukraine
On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and this move put a lot of tension on NATO and the ability of Biden to maintain the unity of this alliance. More than that, the president had to manage to get funding from the United States Congress and also from the countries that are members of NATO. Since then, Ukraine has made every possible effort to hold off Russia in this cruel war.
But more funding was needed, and this is exactly why Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the United States in December 2022. It was his first trip outside Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
The visit lasted 10 hours, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met American President Joe Biden. During this visit, there was a joint press conference and a session addressed to the United States Congress.
2. Abortion rights
During the same year, the Supreme Court, more specifically the conservative majority of it, shocked the entire country by overturning the right to abortion in the United States.
Roe v. Wade is the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. Abortion was now safe and legal, and even more important, it had been recognized as a federal constitutional right in the United States. This has lasted more than 50 years, until June 24, 2022.
But this was just the tip of the iceberg. There were many more things that were brought into discussion after this. Gun laws, environmental regulations, immigration, and race-based affirmative action were the main ones.
Even if President Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the ideological balance would not change. At this moment, it still tips in favor of the conservatives.
3. Inflation
It’s been decades since inflation hit record highs the way it did in 2022. This scared a lot of Americans and made them feel like a new recession was approaching. All the prices boomed. Food became much more expensive, and gas prices just skyrocketed. At some point, the price for a gallon of gas was $5.
Life became too expensive. Annual inflation neared 9%, the highest level since the 1970s. Despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to contain inflation, wage growth has yet to occur. Many folks still require assistance in purchasing the same items they previously purchased without much effort.
There are many factors that led to this rise in prices, but the main culprit is the COVID-19 pandemic. The disruptions that affected the supply chain made certain goods difficult to find while pushing up consumer costs.
4. Public hearings from Jan. 6
On January 6, 2021, after the defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a group formed by many of his supporters assaulted the Capitol Building. The incident was meant to disrupt the joint session of Congress called to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. Rioters are alleged to have inflicted $1.5 million in damage to the Capitol building.
The public hearings from Jan. 6 featured unique evidence and footage from those who were a part of the riot. Local election authorities and those who worked in Trump’s administration or on his reelection campaign created an image of a former president who led a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol and then did nothing to stop the riot for hours despite being told to do so.
The public hearings that were held by the Committee were live-televised and presented all the necessary evidence of Trump’s seven-part plan. This plan was meant to overturn the 2020 election and help Trump regain his power. In total, there were ten public hearings.
The public hearings were a boom for American television because they had incredible ratings. Two hearings, the ones that were prime time, had an average of 18.9 million viewers.
5. The midterm elections
Many Americans and politicians expected the midterm elections of 2022 to be all about the “red wave,” but things did not unfold exactly in this way. Yes, the Republicans won the White House, but the Democrats did so much better than anyone could imagine. The difference was slim, and they had a real chance to win.
But even if Republicans took control of the House, they would only have a four-seat majority. Also, the Democrats held the Senate. The ultimate partisan divide in the House for the 118th Congress was 222-213, the greatest midterm performance for a sitting president’s party in more than two decades.
If we look at what these things mean at the state level, we will notice some changes. In 2023, Republicans will control 26 governorships and Democrats 24. Democrats gained two governorships this year, taking Arizona, Maryland, and Massachusetts, while Republicans took Nevada.
6. New gun laws
Unfortunately, 2022 brought many more mass shootings. Just a few days apart, one from another, two tragic events happened: 10 people were killed during a supermarket shooting that took place in Buffalo, New York, and another 21, of whom 19 were children, had the same fate in a school mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
After those incidents, people took action and started to protest all around the country. As a result, some modest but much-needed gun reforms were signed. Now, it should be a little harder for the citizens of the United States to acquire guns because everything will be more controlled.
This is a lesson for all of us about how hard it is to pass changes federally. There are many people who are part of Thailand, and because of that, things are a lot more difficult, especially when we talk about a controversial subject.
7. Trump announces for president again
Our former president will not give up the political scene that easily, whether people and leaders in his party like it or not. Donald Trump announced his intention to run for president again shortly after the Republicans underperformed in the midterm elections.
For some people, this is not surprising at all, but for others, it could be. During the last year, Trump has been the subject of many investigations, and maybe some folks believed that he would not try to become president one more time.
His house in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, was searched because there were many classified documents from the White House that needed to be removed. Then, the Trump Organization was found guilty of felony tax fraud for over a decade. Besides these two, there was also the Jan. 6 investigation.
If you want to get information about the politics of our country, this book might be a good start.
You should also read: Beware of These 8 Sneaky Political Manipulation Tactics!
