While the Democrat establishment and the mainstream media are frantically trying to cover up a litany of personal scandals ahead of Joe Biden’s 2024 re-election bid, perhaps the president’s biggest overlooked weakness continues to be his disastrous and in many cases embarrassing foreign policy record.
That was on full display during Biden’s recent overseas trip, which offered more clear evidence of both the president’s alarming cognitive decline and complete ineptitude when it comes to international relations.
In his first stop, Biden traveled to the U.K., where he met with King Charles and British prime minister Rishi Sunak. While taking part in an inspection of the Royal Guards outside Windsor Castle, the 82-year-old Biden appeared once again lost and confused, and had to be escorted away by the British monarch. Biden also walked several steps in front of King Charles during the event – a technical breach of protocol that the mainstream media blasted Trump for when he inched in front of Queen Elizabeth in 2018.
Notably, Biden had already strained relations with Britain earlier this year when he skipped Charles’s coronation – a decision several British news outlets openly criticized. Many foreign policy experts saw Biden’s absence as a deliberate snub of both the Royal Family and Britain, particularly as the White House has sought closer relationships with Germany and the European Union.
One embarrassment followed another as Biden departed England for a NATO Summit in Lithuania. Upon arrival, Biden skipped the leadership summit opening dinner, with the White House citing a “busy schedule.” It marked the third such time Biden has missed an opening dinner with other world leaders, which are viewed as important diplomatic events.
After the NATO Summit, Biden headed to Helsinki for a meeting with Nordic leaders. But any news from the talks was overshadowed by a downright bizarre clip of the president appearing to nibble on the shoulder of a small child just before departing.
Biden had already irked many U.S. allies just befor departing on his foreign trip through his decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine earlier this month. The weapons, which are banned by more than 120 countries, have an ugly track record of indiscriminately killing non-combatants. Even Pope Francis voiced his opposition to sending the bombs to Ukraine, marking a further rift between the pontiff and the Catholic Biden.
As has often been the case throughout Biden’s tenure, at least some of the frustration on the part of U.S. allies stems from the fact that they were not clued into Biden’s decision beforehand. Going all the way back to the disastrous U.S. exit from Afghanistan, America’s partners have often been blindsided by the president, leaving them feeling as if they can’t rely on the United States.
Back in 2021, Biden angered France, another longtime U.S. ally, over his administration’s rollout of an Indo-Pacific security pact. Under the terms of the agreement, Australia backed out of a multi-billion-dollar submarine deal with France to enter into the new agreement. The move infuriated Paris, prompting the French government to take the unprecedented move of recalling its U.S. ambassador.
Biden later admitted that his handling of the situation was “clumsy,” but that did little to ease tensions between Washington and Paris. As French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to China earlier this year to engage in talks with Xi Jinping, there was the sense that the French leader cared little about the Biden administration’s fretting over the meetings.
In addition to his diplomatic flubs, strange personal antics, and alienation of U.S. allies, America’s enemies have also grown more emboldened on the global stage. Iran is plowing ahead with its nuclear program, China is building up its military, and Russia shows no signs of stopping its invasion of Ukraine.
All of this has occurred under Biden’s watch, and the result is a far more dangerous and unstable world.
For Republicans, making next year’s election in part a referendum on Biden’s foreign policy has all the characteristics of a winning strategy. Biden’s campaign team is working overtime to convince voters that the economy is getting better and things at home aren’t really all that bad. But they will never persuade anyone beside the most devoted partisans that the Afghanistan withdraw was anything other than a complete disaster, or that America’s enemies are not in a better position today than they were three years ago, or that longtime U.S. allies are suddenly growing more distant.
There are some failures that are just too big to cover up.
Neil Banerji is a proud Las Vegas resident and former student at the University of Oxford. In his spare time, he enjoys reading Winston Churchill and Edmund Burke.