President Biden is touting his foreign policy achievements days before President-elect Donald Trump takes the reins of the country’s foreign policy agenda.
Four years after declaring America’s alliances “our greatest asset,” during his first foreign policy speech in 2021, Biden is making the case they are at their strongest position yet, that adversaries are weaker and that he is passing on to the next administration a stronger hand than he started with.
“We have taken those alliances to all-time highs. We're passing them off in the healthiest place they have been in decades. And I think that that can pay dividends across every issue that matters to everyday Americans, from Russia and China to technology to economic prosperity to terrorism, you name it,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during an interview with Scripps News.
The White House points to the strengthening of NATO, rallying countries around Ukraine, building partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, supporting Israel, establishing a coalition against Houthis Red Sea attacks, ending the war in Afghanistan, investments in supply chains and safeguarding technology, including artificial intelligence.
“I think for him, it's less about convincing and more about explaining. Explaining the moment we're in, which is a moment of real transition in the world. The post-Cold War era has ended. We are now in a contest for what comes next, and it's a contest about economics and technology and human values,” Sullivan said. “And the question is that the President will pose, is America winning this contest right now? And he will give an emphatic yes as an answer to that question,” Sullivan said.
But at the same time, the Biden administration will leave Iran, North Korea, Russia and the People’s Republic of China with a closer relationship than ever before; the administration argues that’s due to those countries’ weakness, as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine and Hamas continues to hold hostages.
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MIDDLE EAST
With days left in office, officials continue to seek a deal for a hostage release and ceasefire in Gaza. President Biden was expected to speak with the president of Egypt on Monday after discussing the negotiations in Doha with Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Monday and doing the same with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
Sullivan believes they are “very close” to a deal and that there’s a possibility it could get done this week.
“I believe that Israel has taken a big step in the last few days to be prepared to get to a final outcome in which the hostages come out, the fighting stops and we can surge humanitarian aid into Gaza in a more calm environment. We're not there yet, but I do believe the possibility is there for this deal to close this week, before President Biden leaves office, and President Biden will continue to stay engaged with the leaders in the region,” he said.
The parties are working off a framework introduced last spring that is a phased agreement and includes and exchange for prisoner releases and a surge of humanitarian assistance. Sullivan said details around prisoner release formulas and the disposition of Israeli forces have been hammered away at. One of the final details being worked on, Sullivan said, is the sequencing of people coming out.
Biden’s top Middle East advisor Brett McGurk, remains in the region, as the administration also coordinates with the incoming Trump administration “to present a united message to all the parties which says it is in the American national security interests, regardless of party, regardless of outgoing or incoming Administration, to get this deal done as fast as possible,” Sullivan told reporters.
Trump has warned of “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released by the inauguration. His team has sought to credit him.
“I actually believe that we're working in tandem in a really good way. But it's the president, his reputation, the things that he that he has said that are that are driving this negotiation,” Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said last week.
“One thing I would observe that if you’re Hamas all hell has been breaking loose on you for fourteen months,” Sullivan said.
The administration has indicated it was close to a deal before, only to see it stall. But Sullivan said there’s a “different dynamic around the negotiating table” this time, pointing to pressure built on Hamas.
UKRAINE
Biden has sent more aid to Ukraine as part of a promise made in his final months in office to surge assistance as Russia has continued its invasion.
The administration has anticipated potential for negotiations this year, according to a U.S. official, and believes its role is to help strengthen Ukraine’s position through security and economic support for the country and economic pressure on Russia, an approach it believes should be continued.
Sullivan said they have given Ukraine a “significant amount of leverage to take to the negotiating table,” pointing to surging weapons and munitions to increase Ukraine’s military capacity, financial and oil sector sanctioning pressuring Russia’s economy and rallying countries to Ukraine’s defense.
“So I think the Trump team has the tools that it needs to work with Ukraine to get a good deal at the negotiating table. And now the question is, will they do that and not just pull the rug out from under Ukraine, or try to impose a deal on top of Ukraine? That's something the next administration is going to have to decide for itself,” Sullivan said.
Trump claimed Russia would not have invaded on his watch and has prompted questions over the United States' continued support for the country. He has indicated Putin wants to meet with him.
However, the administration maintains that negotiations and outcomes are Ukraine’s decision to make.
Zelenskyy presented its ‘victory plan’ to Biden last fall, Sullivan points out ahead of the election.
“Really what his victory plan was, was his plan to go into negotiations with the wind at his back, to have this leverage we just described. I think he's thinking in practical terms about that negotiation. I think he's thinking carefully about the elements of a potential deal, and that's something that he's refined over the course of the last few months,” Sullivan said.
CHINA
The White House believes the U.S. is in a strong position when it comes to strategic competition with China.
Biden has sought to manage relations with China throughout his four years, which began in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic that further strained U.S.-China relations. His administration saw increased tensions with aggressive PRC actions in the South China Sea, the discovery of Chinese spy balloons over the U.S. and economic competition, as well as significant diplomatic efforts to thaw those resulting in restored diplomatic channels.
“President Biden's policies have put the U.S. in a decisive lead over China, both economically and in terms of the technologies that will define the future, like artificial intelligence,” Sullivan said.
The administration introduced new regulations on Monday, curbing some exports of advanced computing chips used in artificial intelligence.
Sullivan said the administration has been clear in diplomacy that the U.S. would take steps to protect advanced technology so it can’t be used against the country.
“And that goes for the most advanced semiconductors related to artificial intelligence because those can be used in everything from nuclear weapons research to advanced conventional weapons,” Sullivan said. “So the U.S. is going to make no apologies about placing restrictions on the flow of those kinds of chips to China and to other competitors and adversaries. China has responded in the past by taking some measures around critical mineral supply chains. We've been prepared for that, and we're prepared for anything that China may do going forward because we believe it is so important that we take these kinds of measures. And this, I believe, is one of the critical legacies of the Biden administration.”
President Biden urged the next administration to continue work on artificial intelligence and clean energy.
"Clean energy transition is already happening. China is trying to dominate the clean energy manufacturing critical materials supply chains. They want to capture the market of the future and create new dependencies. The United States must win that contest,” Biden said.
PRESIDENT BIDEN’S PERSPECTIVE
President Biden once indicated he believed Trump was a danger to American security.
“In a week's time, the president will leave the presidency and pass the baton to President Trump. From his perspective, he'll have plenty of time to talk about how he sees President Trump going forward, how he reacts to what President Trump does. But for this coming week, we're trying to work with the incoming administration to secure objectives on behalf of the American national interest,” Sullivan said.
President Biden said they are leaving the next administration with a “strong hand to play” with stronger alliances and weaker adversaries, urging the country to take advantage of what he said were diplomatic and geopolitical opportunities created.
“In terms of my greatest regret, I wish we had another four years to keep going because we're in a period right now — we're actually investing in the sources of American strength. The payoff comes over a longer period of time, and I think what President Biden has done for this country will be measured in decades, even as the electoral cycle is measured in two and four years,” Sullivan.
