filled the void

I understand "filled the void" as "serves as the bridge to a U.S. that is fair, free and rich in wisdom."

What do you understand "filled the void"?


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Gates is everywhere these days, a lavender-sweatered Mister Rogers for the curious and quarantined. With the United States surrendering in the global war against a disease without borders, Gates has filled the void. The U.S. is isolated, pitied, scorned. Gates, by one measure, is the most admired man in the world.


Source: NYTimes
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/o...?smid=tw-share

He has stepped in to do what the government is failing to do.

GoesStation said:

He has stepped in to do what the government is failing to do.

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So I've understood it correctly in the OP.

GoodTaste said:

I understand "filled the void" as "serves as the bridge to a U.S. that is fair, free and rich in wisdom."

[STRIKE]What[/STRIKE] How do you understand "filled the void"?

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GoodTaste said:

So I've understood it correctly in the OP.

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No. The sentence implies that the government has failed to act, leaving a void — an empty place — where the response belongs. Gates has performed actions that, in the writer's opinion, make this metaphorical place less empty. There is no implication of bridge-building, fairness, freedom, or wisdom.