Biden will deliver a closing speech on foreign policy on Monday

President Biden begins his final week in office on Monday with a strong defense of his foreign policy, arguing in an afternoon speech that America has grown stronger under his watch.

With just seven days to hand over the White House to President-elect Donald J. Trump, Mr. Biden hopes to use his remaining time to build on his historic legacy as a transformational leader who has strengthened the United States at home and abroad. only for a while.

The effort begins Monday at 2 p.m. at the State Department with a speech touting what he sees as his successes on the international stage. He plans to say that the United States is strengthening its alliances both in Europe in the face of Russian aggression and in the Asia-Pacific region amid China’s rise. At the same time, he plans to argue that America’s enemies, particularly Russia, China and Iran, are weaker than when he took office.

“He will ask: Is America stronger than it was four years ago?” He will answer the question with an emphatic yes,” said Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser. said in the preview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “Our allies, as I said before, are stronger. Our enemies and competitors are weaker. We kept the nation out of war. Today, every element of American power is stronger.”

The speech will be the first this week to focus on presenting the best case for Mr. Biden’s presidency as it winds down. He will deliver a more widely televised farewell address to the nation on Tuesday evening, as many presidents do. He will also speak at a farewell ceremony this week for his conservation record and the commander-in-chief at Joint Base Myers-Henderson Hall.

On foreign policy, Mr. Biden has presided over a tumultuous period and Mr. Trump has blamed him for the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, even though no U.S. troops are directly on the ground in either location. Some critics said Mr. Biden’s fiery and out-of-control world led to the erosion of his political popularity at home and ultimately to his withdrawal under pressure.

“Biden’s handing the presidency back to his predecessor is part of his foreign policy shortcomings,” said Peter Rough, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Europe and Eurasia and a former aide to President George W. Bush.

“For most of his time in office, Biden has been on the defensive, first in Ukraine and then in Gaza,” Mr. Rough continued. “The president’s liberal internationalism of the 1990s may have been well-intentioned, but it didn’t always sit well with the power politics of the 2020s.”

still, A new Gallup poll was released on Monday showed that America’s position in Europe has improved significantly under Mr. Biden. Of the 30 NATO allies surveyed, approval of the US leadership has risen in all but four since 2020, Mr Trump’s last year in office. Approval ratings rose by double digits in 20 out of 30 countries. In Germany, for example, approval of US leadership rose from just 6 percent under Mr. Trump to 52 percent under Mr. Biden.

By pulling US troops out of Afghanistan and pulling America out of the longest war in its history, Mr. Biden has finally achieved what his two predecessors wanted but failed to do. However, the chaotic nature of the retreat took a toll on both his and the country’s reputation around the world.

Mr. Biden has rallied much of the world to oppose Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has re-strengthened NATO after fraying ties under Mr. Trump, even admitting two new members, Sweden and Finland. He directed tens of billions of dollars worth of American weapons to Ukraine, which helped thwart Moscow’s attempt to take over the country.

But Mr. Biden was criticized from two different directions; some complained that he was too reticent to deliver more powerful weapons for fear of becoming a nuclear superpower, while others complained that he was investing too much American treasure in someone else’s war. And after his initial stunning success, the defense of Ukraine has stalled, and Mr. Trump is now promising to end the war with what are expected to be concessions to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin.

The war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel was the other dominant crisis of Mr. Biden’s tenure. He stood firm with Israel and provided weapons for an all-out attack on Hamas, but was ultimately disappointed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejected American pressure to prevent civilian casualties and alleviate humanitarian suffering.

Even now, in his final days, Mr. Biden is trying to sign an elusive ceasefire deal that would end the fighting and result in the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, including several who are American citizens. Mr Sullivan said on Sunday that US negotiators were “very, very close” to a deal, but it was unclear whether it could be finalized by next Monday, when Mr Trump takes office.

As in Ukraine, Mr. Biden faced criticism from both sides. On the one hand, he was accused of not doing more to stop the killing of civilians and called “Genocide Joe” in protests. On the other hand, he was accused of pressuring Israel to restrain itself in the face of the existential threat of terrorism.