WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� strode into the White House four years ago with a foreign policy agenda that put repairing alliances strained by four years of Republican 鈥淎merica First鈥� worldview front and center.
The one-term Democrat took office in the throes of the worst in a century and his plans were quickly stress-tested by a series of complicated international crises: from Afghanistan, , and Hamas' brutal 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the
As Biden prepares to leave office, he remains insistent that his one-term presidency has made strides in restoring American credibility on the world stage and has proven the U.S. remains an indispensable partner around the globe. That message will be at the center of an address he will deliver Monday afternoon on his
Yet Biden's case for foreign policy achievements will be shadowed and shaped, at least in the near term, by the messy counterfactual that American voters are returning the country鈥檚 stewardship to Trump and his protectionist worldview.
鈥淭he real question is: Does the rest of the world today believe that the United States is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world when it comes to our reservoir of national strength, our economy, our innovation base, our capacity to attract investment, our capacity to attract talent?鈥� White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an Associated Press interview. 鈥淲hen we took office, a lot of people probably would have said China. ... Nobody鈥檚 saying that anymore.鈥�
After a turbulent four years around the globe, the Democratic administration argues that Biden provided the world a steady hand and left the United States and its allies on a stronger footing.
But Biden, from the outset of his presidency, in which he frequently spoke of his desire to demonstrate that 鈥淎merica's back,鈥� was tested by war, calamity and miscalculation.
Chaotic US exit from Afghanistan was an early setback for Biden
With the U.S. completing its 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden fulfilled a campaign promise to wind down .
But the 20-year conflict came to an end in disquieting fashion: The , a killed 13 U.S. troops and 170 others, and thousands of desperate Afghans descended on Kabul鈥檚 airport in search of a way out before the final U.S. aircraft departed over the Hindu Kush.
The Afghanistan debacle was a major setback just eight months into Biden's presidency that he struggled to recover from.
Biden's Republican detractors, including Trump, cast it as a signal moment in a failed presidency.
鈥淚鈥檒l tell you what happened, he was so bad with Afghanistan, it was such a horrible embarrassment, most embarrassing moment in the history of our country,鈥� Trump said in his , just weeks before the Democrat announced he was
Biden's legacy in Ukraine may hinge on Trump's approach going forward
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Biden rallied allies in Europe and beyond to provide Ukraine with billions in military and economic assistance 鈥� including from the U.S. alone. That allowed Kyiv to stay in the fight with Russian President vastly bigger and better-equipped military. Biden's team also coordinated with allies to hit Russia with a steady stream of aimed at isolating the Kremlin and making Moscow pay an economic price for prosecuting its war.
But Biden has faced criticism that he's been too cautious throughout the war about providing the Ukrainians with certain advanced lethal weaponry in a timely matter and setting restrictions on how they're used 鈥攊nitially resisting Ukrainian President requests to fire missiles deep into Russian territory as well as requests for , and other systems.
Biden often balked, before eventually relenting, out of a concern that it was necessary to hold the line against escalation that he worried could draw the U.S. and other NATO members into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.
Trump, for his part, has criticized the cost of the war to U.S. taxpayers and vowed to bring the conflict to a quick end.
Biden said Friday he remains hopeful that the U.S. will continue to aid Ukraine after he leaves office.
鈥淚 know that there are a significant number of Democrats and Republicans on the Hill who think we should continue to support Ukraine,鈥� . 鈥淚t is my hope and expectation they will speak up ... if Trump decides to cut off funding for Ukraine.鈥�
Daniel Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland and adviser to Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, said Biden's Ukraine legacy now will largely be shaped by Trump.
He added that Trump just may succeed in bringing what many Americans can accept as 鈥渁 decent end鈥� to the Ukraine war.
鈥淭hat's not necessarily going to happen, but it could,鈥� Fried said. 鈥淎nd if he does, then the criticism of Biden will be that he acted to help Ukraine, but hesitated, dithered, did a lot of hand wringing, and it took Trump to actually bring about a fair settlement.鈥�
Sullivan makes the case that Trump, a billionaire real estate developer, should consider the backing of Ukraine through the prism of a dealmaker.
鈥淒onald Trump has built his identity around making deals, and the way you make a good deal is with leverage,鈥� Sullivan said. 鈥淥ur case publicly and privately to the incoming team is build the leverage, show the staying power, back Ukraine, and it is down that path that lies a good deal."
Biden's Mideast diplomacy shadowed by devastation of Gaza
In the Middle East, Biden has stood by Israel as it has worked to root out Hamas from Gaza. That war spawned another in Lebanon, where Israel has mauled Iran鈥檚 most powerful ally, even as Israel has launched openly inside of Iran for the first time.
The degradation of Hezbollah in turn played a role when Islamist-led rebels last month , a brutal fixture of Iran鈥檚 鈥淎xis of Resistance."
Biden's relationship with Israel's conservative leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been strained by the enormous Palestinian death toll in the fighting 鈥攏ow standing at 鈥� and Israel's blockade of the territory that has left much of Gaza a hellscape where access to food and basic health care is severely limited.
Pro-Palestinian activists have demanded an arms embargo against Israel, but U.S. policy has largely remained unchanged. The State Department in recent days informed Congress of a planned
Aaron David Miller, a former State Department Middle East negotiator, said the approach has put Iran on its heels, but Biden will pay a reputational cost for the devastation of Gaza.
鈥淭he administration was either unable or unwilling to create any sort of restraint that normal humans would regard as significant pressure,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚t was beyond Joe Biden鈥檚 emotional and political bandwidth to impose the kinds of sustained or significant pressures that might have led to a change in Israeli tactics.鈥�
More than 15 months after the Hamas-led attack that prompted the war, around 98 hostages remain in Gaza. More than a third of those are presumed dead by Israeli authorities.
Biden's Middle East adviser Brett McGurk is in the Middle East, looking to complete an elusive hostage and ceasefire deal as time runs out in the presidency. Trump, for his part, is warning that if the hostages aren't freed by Inauguration Day.
Sullivan declined to comment on Trump's threats to Hamas, but offered that the two sides are in agreement about the most important thing: getting a deal done.
鈥淗aving alignment of the outgoing and incoming administration that a hostage deal at the earliest possible opportunity is in the American national interest,鈥� he said. 鈥淗aving unity of message on that is a good thing, and we have closely coordinated with the incoming team to this effect.鈥�
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Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press
