Biden defends his foreign policy legacy and says he is leaving Trump a country with a 'very strong hand'

President Joe Biden delivered his last foreign policy speech on Monday, highlighting his presidency as a transformative period for the United States in the international arena. Biden asserted that he is leaving President-elect Donald Trump a country better prepared to compete in a new era compared to the position he inherited from Trump four years ago.

According to the outgoing president, his diplomatic and security efforts have strengthened U.S. international alliances, while his main adversaries are in a weaker position. "My administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play (...) The United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago," he assured. However, he acknowledged that China poses a growing threat in clean energy, a sector where the Asian giant seeks to dominate technology manufacturing and supply chains for critical materials, which could generate new global dependencies. "They want to capture the market of the future and create new dependencies – the United States must win that contest," Biden stressed.

Current challenges under Biden's leadership

Despite Biden's optimism about his legacy, the world continues to face significant challenges. As he leaves office, Ukraine continues to struggle to regain ground against the Russian invasion, a conflict that has marked his presidency from the beginning. At the same time, Gaza remains the scene of a devastating war that erupted after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, generating great international concern. 

For his part, President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted that none of these wars would have taken place under his tenure, suggesting that his foreign policy approach could have prevented such crises. However, Biden continues to defend his decisions, highlighting efforts to strengthen U.S. alliances and more effectively confront global threats.

Defending the withdrawal from Afghanistan

One of the most controversial issues of his presidency was the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.  This move drew heavy criticism due to the tragic consequences, which included the deaths of 13 U.S. military personnel and approximately 170 Afghan civilians in an ISIS-K attack. However, Biden defended his decision, stressing that by ending the war, he broke with the tradition of leaving conflicts unresolved. "I am the first president in decades not to leave the war in Afghanistan to his successor," he stressed, adding that he saw no reason to keep thousands of troops in the country.

Biden also sought to refute critics who claimed that the withdrawal would damage U.S. alliances and strengthen global terrorism. According to the president, those predictions did not materialize. In addition, he noted that by ending the war, the United States was able to focus its resources on addressing more pressing threats, such as the growing competition from Russia and China on the international stage.