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Biden, in Foreign Policy Speech, Castigates Trump and Urges Global Diplomacy Biden, in Foreign Policy Speech, Castigates Trump and Urges Global Diplomacy
(about 5 hours later)
After spending two weeks sparring with his presidential primary opponents, Joseph R. Biden Jr. sought to again rise above the Democratic fray on Thursday, delivering a sweeping foreign policy address that denounced President Trump as incapable of global leadership and called for a new commitment to international diplomacy. After spending two weeks sparring with his presidential primary opponents, Joseph R. Biden Jr. sought once more to rise above the Democratic fray on Thursday, delivering a sweeping foreign policy address that denounced President Trump as incapable of global leadership and called for a new commitment to multilateral diplomacy.
In broad but unequivocal terms, Mr. Biden delivered a scathing assessment of Mr. Trump’s leadership, saying his judgment has tarnished the country’s reputation abroad and undermined its ability to achieve its foreign policy goals. As a counterpoint, Mr. Biden set forth his own foreign policy vision that includes putting diplomacy first and working with other countries — rather than unilaterally — toward collective goals. In broad but unequivocal terms, Mr. Biden offered a scathing assessment of Mr. Trump’s leadership, saying the president’s judgment has tarnished the country’s reputation abroad and undermined its ability to achieve its foreign policy goals. As a counterpoint, Mr. Biden set forth his own foreign policy vision that he said was needed to restore America’s position as a global leader, including working with other countries toward collective aims.
“The threat that I believe President Trump poses to our national security and who we are as a country is extreme,” Mr. Biden said in a midday speech in New York City. He called the president “dangerously incompetent’’ and incapable of global and domestic leadership. “The threat that I believe President Trump poses to our national security and where we are as a country is extreme,” Mr. Biden said in a midday speech in New York City. He criticized the president’s “chest-thumping” and called him inept at global and domestic leadership.
From the outset, Mr. Biden hammered Mr. Trump for his cozy relationships with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and other authoritarians including Kim Jong-un of North Korea. “He undermines our Democratic alliances while embracing dictators who appeal to his vanity,’’ Mr. Biden said of the president. “Make no mistake about it the world sees Trump for who he is: Insincere, ill-informed and impulsive.” Returning again and again to themes of democracy and American values, Mr. Biden delivered a message of unity over division and promised to reverse many of Mr. Trump’s decisions. He referred to President Barack Obama, for whom he served as vice president for eight years, with a tone that seemed intended to soothe and fortify voters disenchanted with Mr. Trump’s brash style of statecraft and “America First’’ philosophy. Mr. Biden spoke of American values — freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of the press — and alluded to the Statue of Liberty.
Among his specific proposals was a plan to convene a summit of the world’s democracies to “try to refocus on our common purpose.” “Leaders who attend must come prepared to cooperate and make concrete commitments to take on corruption and advance human rights in their own nations,” Mr. Biden said. Among his specific proposals was a plan to convene and host a summit of the world’s democracies in his first year as president “to put strengthening democracy back on the global stage.”
The summit would include members of the private sector, he said, aligning with an initiative aimed at countering the abuse of technology across the world. “Leaders who attend must come prepared to cooperate and make concrete commitments to take on corruption and advance human rights in their own nations,” Mr. Biden said. The summit, he said, would also challenge the private sector, including technology companies and social media giants, to commit to countering both censorship and the spread of hate.
Mr. Biden would also rejoin the Paris climate accord as a component of his global plan to confront climate change, and he pledged to reverse Mr. Trump’s “detrimental asylum policies.” Mr. Biden said he would also rejoin the Paris climate accord as a component of his global plan to confront climate change, and he pledged to reverse Mr. Trump’s “detrimental asylum policies.”
The former vice-president’s initiatives would constitute an renewed embrace of multilateralism, and a rebuke of Mr. Trump’s policy of spurning international agreements and denigrating institutions like NATO. “If we focus, this is not a moment to fear,” Mr. Biden said. “It’s a time for us to tap into the strength and audacity that took us to victory in two world wars and brought down the Iron Curtain.”
His speech Thursday approach also represented an effort to bring the campaign back to where he is most comfortable: Above the crowded Democratic field, seeking to cast the contest as a head-to-head matchup against Mr. Trump. The former vice president’s initiatives would constitute an renewed embrace of multilateralism, and a rebuke of Mr. Trump’s policy of spurning international agreements and denigrating institutions like NATO.
In the seven-page fact sheet that accompanied Mr. Biden’s speech, he provided a three-pronged blueprint for accomplishing his foreign policy agenda, including specific early actions he would undertake as president, both domestically and abroad. He pledged, for instance, to reform the criminal justice system and to dedicate resources to protect the election system — an apparent nod to the foreign meddling that bedeviled the 2016 presidential election. He also vowed to end family separation at the southern border and discontinue Mr. Trump’s travel ban. Mr. Biden’s speech on Thursday also represented an effort to bring the campaign back to where he is most comfortable: above the crowded Democratic field, seeking to cast the contest as a head-to-head matchup against Mr. Trump.
In a seven-page fact sheet that accompanied Mr. Biden’s speech, he provided a three-pronged blueprint for accomplishing his foreign policy agenda, including specific early actions he would undertake as president, both domestically and abroad. He pledged, for instance, to reform the criminal justice system and to dedicate resources to protect the election system — a nod to the foreign meddling that bedeviled the 2016 presidential election. He also vowed to end family separation at the southern border and to discontinue Mr. Trump’s travel ban.
“Democracy is the root of our society, the wellspring of our power, and the source of our renewal,” he wrote. “It strengthens and amplifies our leadership to keep us safe in the world. It is the engine of our ingenuity that drives our economic prosperity. It is the heart of who we are and how we see the world — and how the world sees us.”“Democracy is the root of our society, the wellspring of our power, and the source of our renewal,” he wrote. “It strengthens and amplifies our leadership to keep us safe in the world. It is the engine of our ingenuity that drives our economic prosperity. It is the heart of who we are and how we see the world — and how the world sees us.”
He criticized Mr. Trump’s approach to China, saying it was shortsighted while China was taking the “long view.’’ From the outset, Mr. Biden assailed Mr. Trump for his cozy relationships with authoritarian leaders like President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Kim Jong-un of North Korea. “He undermines our Democratic alliances while embracing dictators who appeal to his vanity,” Mr. Biden said of the president. “Make no mistake about it — the world sees Trump for what he is: insincere, ill-informed and impulsive.”
“The most effective way that we need to change is to build a united front of friends and partners to challenge China’s abusive behavior,” he said. He also criticized Mr. Trump’s approach to China, saying the president’s plan was shortsighted while China was “playing the long game.”
The speech comes as Mr. Biden seeks to move past a difficult stretch of the campaign, following a shaky debate performance that worried even many of his allies, as well as days spent defending his civil rights record. “We need to get tough with China,” he said. “The most effective way that we need to change is to build a united front of friends and partners to challenge China’s abusive behavior, even as we seek to deepen cooperation on issues where our interests are converged like climate change and preventing nuclear proliferation,” he said.
But in an appeal to the working class voters he hopes to woo, he also pledged to overhaul the country’s trade policies.
“There’s not going to be a back to business as usual on trade with me,” he said. “We need new rules. We need new processes.”
The speech comes as Mr. Biden seeks to move past a difficult stretch of the campaign following a shaky debate performance that worried even many of his allies, as well as days spent defending his civil rights record.
On Saturday, in a rare move from a politician who often resists making apologies, Mr. Biden expressed regret for speaking warmly about working relationships with segregationists at a fund-raiser last month. He sought to put the episode behind him after Senator Kamala Harris chided him in the first presidential primary debate, lacing into him for his opposition to some busing initiatives dating to the 1970s.On Saturday, in a rare move from a politician who often resists making apologies, Mr. Biden expressed regret for speaking warmly about working relationships with segregationists at a fund-raiser last month. He sought to put the episode behind him after Senator Kamala Harris chided him in the first presidential primary debate, lacing into him for his opposition to some busing initiatives dating to the 1970s.
Mr. Biden was not expected to draw explicit distinctions with his Democratic rivals in his address Thursday, but would offer an implicit contrast to them: His allies argue that Mr. Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a former vice president, has more experience on the global stage than any of his opponents at a time when many Democrats believe Mr. Trump has shredded America’s credibility and standing in the world. Mr. Biden did not draw explicit distinctions between his candidacy and those of his Democratic rivals in his address on Thursday, but the speech itself, and its broad international themes, offered an implicit contrast: His allies argue that Mr. Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a former vice president, has more experience on the global stage than any of his opponents at a time when many Democrats believe Mr. Trump has shredded America’s credibility and standing in the world.
In a video released before the speech, Mr. Biden’s campaign attempted to paint Mr. Trump as a dangerous global steward, offering clips of him alongside authoritarian leaders including Mr. Kim of North Korea and Mr. Putin.In a video released before the speech, Mr. Biden’s campaign attempted to paint Mr. Trump as a dangerous global steward, offering clips of him alongside authoritarian leaders including Mr. Kim of North Korea and Mr. Putin.
Though there has already been some focus on Mr. Biden’s previous support for the Iraq War during the campaign — Senator Bernie Sanders has attacked him for that position and his aides say he intends to continue doing so this summer — Mr. Biden’s campaign said the speech would be focused on the present and the future, rather than the past. And he was expected to speak about Russia and North Korea, countries that the president has embraced as he pursues his preference of one-on-one deal making. Though there has already been some focus on Mr. Biden’s previous support for the Iraq War during the campaign — Senator Bernie Sanders has attacked him for that position and his aides say he intends to continue to do so this summer — Mr. Biden’s speech was focused on the present and the future, rather than the past.
Mr. Biden’s foreign policy consists of three pillars, according to senior campaign official said: restoring democracy at home through efforts that include remaking the country’s education system and increasing transparency in politics; “leveraging the economic might of our partners” to deal with economic adversaries like China; and restoring the country’s position at the “head of the table” to mobilize countries against global threats like nuclear proliferation and mass migration. “American leadership is not infallible — we’ve made missteps and mistakes,” Mr. Biden said. “But let me be clear — I will never hesitate to protect the American people.”