#Biden calls #America’s democratic values the “grounding wire of our global power” & its #alliances “our greatest asset.” …#Trump, called for withdrawing American forces in #Europe & #Asia & has promised… to cut loose even our closest #allies if they don’t do as he tells them. …Trump sees all countries as unreliable, the relations between them #transactional. That sentiment has spread throughout a #GOP that once championed America’s values abroad…
During his 40 months in office, events have tested #Biden’s vision of American world leadership. #Alliances haven’t been enough to win a new European #war in #Ukraine. US #power & leverage haven’t prevented a #humanitarian catastrophe in the #MiddleEast, marked by alleged #WarCrimes. #Putin is trying to assemble an axis of #autocrats from #Tehran to #Beijing. In #China, the US faces an adversary potentially its equal in economic & military power intent on tearing down the American #GlobalOrder.
#Biden, who is the most experienced #ForeignPolicy President in a generation, believes that role is in #America’s interest. “When we strengthen our #alliances, we amplify our #power as well as our ability to disrupt #threats before they can reach our shores,” he said…. To judge the merit of Biden’s plan to sustain American world leadership, voters can look to his record: what he has accomplished, where he has fallen short, & how he intends to build on his work in a 2nd term.
…#Biden responds to a question about America’s relationship w/ #SaudiArabia by saying that the #US has 2 kinds of #alliances: “There are #values-based, & there are #practical-based.”
…One of his first moves in office was to cut off certain #arms supplies over the kingdom’s #war in #Yemen, which has #displaced 4.5M people & #killed 377k, including 11k children…. Soon after, the de facto Saudi ruler… #MBS, met w/ #China’s FM & proposed greater cooperation on #nuclear energy & #security….
…#Trump’s affinity for authoritarians represents a defining issue for the #UnitedStates as the #2024election approaches. Several of his own fmr advisers believe, in a 2nd term, he would bring a fundamental shift in the US’ vision of itself & its role in the #world, including potentially pulling the US out of #NATO & reducing the US’ commitment to other defense #alliances.
“NATO would be in real jeopardy,” Bolton told me. “I think he would try to get out.”