President Biden on Monday argued he is leaving President-elect Trump in a strong position on the world stage, making the case for continuity in U.S. efforts to counter threats posed by China’s global ambitions and Russia’s aggression.
In remarks at the State Department, Biden made the case for his foreign policy legacy, as Trump is already threatening allies and calling for America’s territorial expansion.
“My administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play,” Biden said. “The United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago. America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker. We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
Foreign policy has been a major focus of Biden’s career in public service, as the long-time chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, eight years as Vice President and four years as president.
Biden came into office promising to revitalize America’s alliances, which suffered under Trump’s first term. And he rallied NATO allies and other democratic nations to help Ukraine resist Russia’s full-scale invasion almost three years ago.
But as he leaves office, Ukraine is struggling to retake any momentum against Moscow’s invasion, and Gaza has been devastated by a war raging since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Trump contends neither war would have started under his watch.
“The United States should take full advantage of our diplomatic and geopolitical opportunities we’ve created,” Biden said. “To keep bringing countries together to deal with challenges posed by China; to make sure [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war ends in a just and lasting peace for Ukraine; to capitalize on a new moment, a more stable, integrated Middle East.”
While Republicans have grown increasingly skeptical of support for Ukraine, Trump remains a wildcard on the issue, though his promises to end the war have raised fears he’ll push Ukraine into costly negotiations.
Fractures between the U.S. and allies also emerged over Biden’s staunch support for Israel’s war on Hamas, centered on the catastrophic toll on Palestinians.
Biden officials are sounding optimistic about pushing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas over the finish line in his final week in office. It would see Hamas release dozens of hostages still alive over a year of captivity, surge humanitarian support for Palestinians, and ostensibly open a pathway for a permanent end to the war and new governance of the Gaza Strip.
“I have learned in many years of public service to never, never, never, ever give up,” Biden said, addressing the ceasefire talks.
The Middle East is one area where there has been a surprising convergence between the Biden and Trump teams, with the president-elect demanding a hostage release before he enters office, which would also mark a landmark achievement for Biden.
Biden argued that his administration has laid the foundation for protecting Ukraine’s sovereignty, rallying an international coalition to provide military, economic and political support for Kyiv. But international sanctions aimed at bankrupting Russia’s war machine have failed to deliver as intended, and Biden urged the incoming Trump team to stand with Kyiv.
“There’s more to do. We can’t walk away,” he said.
Among his most forceful remarks directed at the incoming Trump administration focused on keeping the research and development of Artificial Intelligence centered in the United States, and to take a leading role on the transition to clean energy, calling climate change the greatest existential threat to humanity.
“We must not offshore Artificial Intelligence, as we once did with computer chips and other critical technologies,” said Biden.
The president slammed Trump allies who reject the existence or threat of climate change, saying they are “dead wrong,” and urging his colleagues to embrace a clean energy transition that China is trying to dominate.
“They want to capture the market of the future and create new dependencies. The United States must win that contest. We will shape the global economy on the planet for decades to come,” Biden said.
The president also addressed what is arguably the longest shadow on his record in office, the chaotic and deadly pullout from Afghanistan in August 2021, framing it as a difficult but necessary decision that freed up American resources to address the threats from China and Russia.
He said China and Russia would have liked nothing more than seeing the U.S. remain bogged down in Afghanistan, and pointed to the recent revolution in Syria as evidence of the move’s success.
“If you want more evidence of a seriously weakened Iran and Russia, just take a look at Syria. President Assad was both countries’ closest ally in the Middle East. Neither could keep him in power. Quite frankly, neither really tried really hard.”
