President Biden began his final week in office with a strong defense of his foreign policy, claiming in a speech Monday that the United States has grown stronger under his watch.
With just seven days left until he hands over the White House to President-elect Donald J. Trump, President-elect Biden is hoping to use the remaining time to frame his historic legacy as a transformational leader who sustained America at home and abroad. Just one term.
These efforts were advanced through a speech at the State Department in which he focused on what he sees as his success on the international stage. He said it strengthened America’s alliances in the Asia-Pacific in the face of Russian aggression and in Europe and the rise of China. At the same time, he argued that America’s enemies, especially Russia, China and Iran, were all weaker than when he took office.
Prime Minister Biden said, “America is winning the global competition.” “Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our allies are stronger, and our enemies and rivals are weaker.”
The speech was the first of the week to lay out the best case for President Biden as his term draws to a close. As many presidents have done, he plans to deliver his farewell address to the nation in a wider prime-time broadcast on Wednesday evening. He is also scheduled to speak this week about his archives and at the Commander-in-Chief’s farewell ceremony at Joint Base Myers-Henderson Hall.
On foreign policy, Mr. Biden has presided over a tumultuous period, with Mr. Trump blaming him for the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip. But nowhere is the U.S. military directly involved. Some critics said the perception that the world was on fire and out of Biden’s control eroded his domestic political popularity and ultimately contributed to his pressure to withdraw from the race.
“Biden’s handing over the presidency to his predecessor partly reflects the shortcomings of his foreign policy,” said Peter Ruff, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Europe and Eurasia and a former adviser to President George W. Bush. bush.
“For most of his time in office, Biden has taken a defensive stance, first in Ukraine and then in Gaza,” Mr. Ruff said. “The president’s liberal internationalism of the 1990s may have been well-intentioned, but it always seemed at odds with the power politics of the 2020s.”
Nonetheless, a new Gallup poll released Monday showed a marked improvement in America’s position in Europe under President Biden. Among the 30 NATO allies surveyed, support for U.S. leadership has increased in all but four since 2020, the final year of President Trump’s term. Approval ratings rose by double digits in 20 out of 30 countries. In Germany, for example, approval for U.S. leadership rose from just 6% under Trump to 52% under Biden.
In withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan and extricating the United States from the longest war in history, Mr. Biden has finally achieved what his two predecessors wanted but could not. However, the chaotic nature of the withdrawal took a significant toll on him and the country’s standing in the world.
Mr Biden has rallied much of the world to oppose Russia’s unprovoked, sweeping invasion of Ukraine, reinvigorated NATO after relations deteriorated under President Trump and even admitted two new members, Sweden and Finland. He moved tens of billions of dollars worth of American weapons to Ukraine, helping to thwart Moscow’s attempts to take control of the country.
But Mr. Biden has drawn criticism from two different directions. Some have complained that he has been too reticent to provide Ukraine with more powerful weapons for fear of the expansion of the nuclear superpower, while others have complained that he is investing too much American treasure in someone else’s war. After initial surprising successes, Ukraine’s defenses have stalled and President Trump is now promising to end the war in what is expected to be a concession to Russia’s President Vladimir V. Putin.
The war in Gaza, following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, was another dominant crisis of Biden’s presidency. He stood firmly on Israel’s side and provided weapons for an all-out offensive against Hamas, but ultimately rejected U.S. pressure to do more to curb civilian casualties and alleviate humanitarian suffering to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I felt frustrated.
As with Ukraine, Mr. Biden has faced criticism from both directions. He was criticized by some for not doing more to stop the massacre of civilians, and was called ‘Genocide Joe’ at protests. On the other hand, it was also criticized for pressuring Israel to exercise restraint in the face of an existential terrorist threat.
But even now, in his final days, Mr. Biden is struggling to strike a difficult cease-fire deal that would end the fighting and lead to the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, including several who are American citizens. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Monday that a deal is still possible until next Monday, when President Trump takes office.
“We’re closer than we’ve ever been,” he told MSNBC. “The ball is in Hamas’ court, but it was very close and we are very hopeful that we can eventually get across the finish line. We’ve had soccer moments with Lucy before. There were instances where the ball was dragged away at the last minute. You can never rule it out. But like I said, we’re closer than ever.”
