Biden established US as world’s ‘undisputed heavyweight champion’: Sullivan

“The 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?” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an Associated Press interview. “When we took office, a lot of people probably would have said China. Nobody’s saying that anymore,” Sullivan said.

Four turbulent years of Biden were marked by efforts to repair global alliances, mainly the trans-Atlantic one, that were strained by Trump’s “America First” worldview. The Democrat’s term was also marred by a raging COVID-19 pandemic, a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and support for Ukraine and Israel against Russia and Hamas, respectively, among other issues.

Biden has emphasised that his one-term presidency has restored America’s credibility as an indispensable global partner. However, critics are apprehensive of a messier foreign policy under Trump’s second term, given his statements on unconditional US support for Ukraine and bickering with Canada, Greenland, etc.

Can Trump ensure continuity?

Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland and adviser to Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, said Biden’s Ukraine legacy will now be largely shaped by Trump’s policies and their impact.

Fried told the AP that Trump may “not necessarily” succeed in bringing what many Americans would consider a “decent end” to the Ukraine war.

“That’s not necessarily going to happen, but it could,” Fried said. “And 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 actually to bring about a fair settlement,” he added.

In West Asia, the Biden administration has continued its arms supply to Israel, including the recent $8 billion sale, despite demands by pro-Palestinian activists for an arms embargo.

Aaron David Miller, a former State Department Middle East negotiator, said Biden’s approach has put Iran on its heels. Still, the outgoing president will pay a reputational cost for the devastation of Gaza that killed more than 46,000 people and left millions without adequate food, water and shelter.

“The administration was either unable or unwilling to create any sort of restraint that normal humans would regard as significant pressure,” Miller said.

“It was beyond Joe Biden’s emotional and political bandwidth to impose the kinds of sustained or significant pressures that might have led to a change in Israeli tactics,” he added.