As a candidate for Congress who is also a U.S. Army Reservist, I pay particular attention to the President’s duty as our Commander-in-Chief…and I’m disturbed by what I’m seeing.
Millions of U.S. Forces at home and around the world are ready to deploy, serve, and risk their lives at a moment’s notice to defend the United States and her allies. Conflicts abroad can have major impacts on life at home, from endangering our physical security to affecting the price of gas and other critical resources. Having confidence in our Commander-in-Chief’s decision-making—whatever the decisions may be—matters.
Unfortunately, President Biden’s decision-making when it comes to foreign affairs has left me, millions of Americans, and our allies dismayed. First with Afghanistan, and now with Russia and Ukraine, Biden’s poor leadership and blundering incompetency has left our country rudderless on the world stage and in a weak position only inviting more conflict.
Biden botched Afghanistan. He’s botching the Southern Border on a daily basis. He’s setting himself up to botch Ukraine as well. But while the debacle in Afghanistan was entirely of his own making, his actions in response to the crisis in Ukraine are making an already tense situation worse.
Biden’s poorly-thought comment during his press conference last week that a “minor incursion” from Russia into Ukraine might be tolerable by the U.S. and our allies set off alarms in capitals around the world. It elicited an (understandable) swift response from Ukraine’s president and left both our allies and enemies confused as to our position in the middle of high-stakes diplomatic talks. The press secretary immediately had to clean it up, and Biden was forced to walk it back the next day.
It’s clear Biden’s comment was not part of a strategic approach or shift in official U.S. policy. It was certainly not an attempt to talk tough. It was obviously a foolish mistake, all the more foolish considering Biden campaigned on bringing discipline, stability, and reassurance back to the world stage and to our allies.
The President’s words matter, but his actions matter more. Another colossal error was Biden’s decision in the early days of his Administration to waive the Trump Administration’s sanctions against Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, effectively green-lighting Russia to tighten its iron grip on Europe’s natural gas supply. Completion of the pipeline, which weakens Ukraine by circumventing the country altogether and makes our European allies more dependent on Russia for their energy, would be a massive geo-political policy failure. Biden’s inaction is allowing it to happen. Even a handful of Democrats in the Senate have criticized Biden’s move and voted with Republicans to restore sanctions, though the bill failed to pass.
Removing those sanctions was a regrettable mistake, all the more regrettable considering Biden bragged he will be tougher on Russia than his predecessor.
More tests are coming. China, sensing weakness, is upping its incursions into Taiwanese air space to test how far they can go. Iran, sensing the current president is perhaps not as threatening as the last one, is increasing its bombastic rhetoric.
I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. I’ve talked to so many Veterans who feel dismayed by the Biden Administration’s repeated weakness in global affairs and abandonment of our allies that I've lost count. Even more frustrating to voters I talk to is Biden’s prioritization of securing Ukraine’s border over our own, sternly warning the Russians against crossing Ukraine’s border while the crime, drugs, and trafficking crossing our Southern Border are given a free pass. This doesn’t have to be an either-or scenario: as President Trump proved, you can secure the Southern Border and uphold our agreements with our allies at the same time.
There is no easy answer to the crisis in Ukraine. Foreign policy is complicated, which is why Americans rely on their Commander-in-Chief to articulate a clear role and vision for America on the world stage and then act on it. Biden has done neither, which is why whatever approach Biden decides to take, I fear he doesn’t have the strength to execute it.
Esther Joy King is a Republican candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 17th Congressional District. King is a Reservist member of the United States Army. Use of her military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Army or the Department of Defense.