Biden to deliver final U.N. General Assembly speech amid global turmoil

In his last speech as president before the United Nations General Assembly, Joe Biden called on nations Tuesday to band together amid the spiraling conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and growing global concerns about China’s influence.

“I truly believe we’re at another inflection point in world history. The choices we make today will determine our future,” Biden said.

The U.S. president said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, for example, has “failed” at his goal to destroy Ukraine and destroy NATO. “But Ukraine is free,” Biden said. “NATO is bigger, stronger more united than ever before, with two new members: Finland and Sweden.”

He said the world cannot let up in its protection of Ukraine against Russian aggression.

Biden detailed Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, which killed 1,200 people, and included acts of sexual violence and the taking of many people into Gaza as hostages. In response, he said, innocent civilians in Gaza have experienced “hell” as Israel has sought to fight back against Hamas. The president said the U.S. has put forward a ceasefire proposal that has been endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, which he called on the parties to finalize.

“A diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security,” said Biden, who also criticized the violence against innocent Palestinians in the West Bank and the need to strive for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians.

Biden said Gaza is “not the only conflict that deserves outrage,” saying that Sudan is embroiled in a civil war in which millions of people are on the brink of famine and hundreds of thousands are already suffering from it. “The world needs to stop arming these generals,” he said, adding that nations need to speak with one voice and demand that the war end.

The president spent several minutes toward the end of his speech focusing on artificial intelligence, saying that it will change our ways of life, ways of work and ways of war. Biden said countries must ensure that A.I. supports, rather than undermines, because it can “uplift and empower everyday people.”

Biden finished his remarks by sharing his decision over the summer to exit the 2024 presidential race and not seek re-election. “Let us never forget, some things are more important than staying in power,” he said. “It’s your people that matter the most. … We are here to serve the people — not the other way around.”

Biden said that “every age faces its challenges” and that he’s witnessed moments of tension and uncertainty in his decades of public service, referring to the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the wars in the Middle East.

But, he argued, there’s always a “way forward.”

“Things can get better,” he said. “We should never forget that. I’ve seen that throughout my career.”

His speech comes against the backdrop of the presidential race on its final leg before Election Day, knowing that his successor — Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump — will face the same issues in the White House and may deal with them very differently.

They were also Biden’s first remarks before the General Assembly since Hamas’ attack on Israel in October and the conflict that has ensued in Gaza, killing thousands of civilians. He spoke to the leaders of other nations as hope for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas has dimmed.

As Israel continues its battle with Hamas, its conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah has also escalated in recent days. On Monday, Israel launched airstrikes on neighboring Lebanon, whose government said nearly 500 people were killed and more than 1,600 were injured in Lebanon’s deadliest day of conflict with Israel since 2006. Israel also issued evacuation warnings to people living in its northern region to escape the violence near the border.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters last week that Biden will “reaffirm America’s leadership on the world stage” in New York and will “rally global action to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.” They include, he said, climate change, artificial intelligence, the opioid epidemic and the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan.

Kirby said Biden will meet with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to “talk about how the partnership between the United States and United Nations in advancing peace and safeguarding human rights can endure and to — prosper.” Kirby said Biden will have engagements with foreign leaders Wednesday.  

Biden is also scheduled to host a summit of a coalition to address synthetic drug threats, including the supply chain of illicit fentanyl. Republicans have often accused him of not doing enough to tackle the problem as part of the strategy at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Other key speakers expected at the General Assembly include Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biden administration officials have been involved in negotiating a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas for months, though progress appears to have diminished. Defense Department spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters last week: “We do not believe that the deal is falling apart. We believe that that is the best way to end the war that’s happening in Gaza and to lower those tensions in the region.” Still, there have been no recent signs of a breakthrough in talks.

Biden also addressed his administration’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, over which he has faced ongoing criticism from GOP lawmakers. Congressional Republicans who have been investigating the pullout recently released a scathing report with their findings. The administration and Democrats, on the other hand, have largely blamed Trump for what unfolded during the withdrawal.

In his remarks, Biden said Tuesday that “13 brave Americans lost their lives, along with hundreds of Afghans in a suicide bomb,” referring to the attack at Abbey Gate. He said he thinks of those lost lives every day, the 2,461 U.S. troops who died during the 20-year war and the more than 20,000 Americans who were wounded. “I think of their service, their sacrifice and their heroism,” he said.

Biden kicked off the week of global engagements near his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, where he hosted the leaders of Australia, India and Japan on Saturday for a meeting of a security grouping known as the Quad.

Though officials say the Quad is not aimed at any particular country and China was not explicitly mentioned in the four leaders’ joint statement after the summit, Secretary of State Antony Blinken began the closed-door meeting by saying, “Our first topic of discussion is China.”

Biden then said, “China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region,” in comments that were briefly caught on hot mics after journalists were escorted from the room.

During his speech Tuesday before the U.N., Biden briefly mentioned China, the world’s second-largest economy, and reiterated U.S. policy, which is to “responsibly manage the competition with China so it does not veer into conflict.”

Asked about Blinken and Biden’s comments on Monday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the U.S. is “lying through its teeth” when it says it is not targeting China and that groupings such as the Quad undermine regional peace and stability.

During the summit, Biden announced various initiatives, including a “cancer moonshot” partner[ship with the other countries to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region.