President Biden’s foreign policies can be debated; however, his foreign policy style cannot. It is rock-bottom, and he has planted seeds for future disasters virtually everywhere. For example, prior to his election, presidential candidate Joe Biden referred to Saudi Arabia as a ‘pariah state’. After becoming president, he ordered the release to the public of more details on the disgusting Khashoggi murder, thereby further publicly embarrassing the Saudis. But to what end? The president apparently forgot that the Saudis are a major world oil producer and have been in a long-standing and positive relationship with the U.S. Public shaming is counter-productive. Later, Biden went hat-in-hand to ask them to increase their oil production. Unsurprisingly, he failed. Indeed, the Saudis have very recently announced further output cuts. Insults simply don’t work.
Concerning the Israelis, Biden has had no reluctance to verbally interfere in their domestic political affairs. Further, he publicly stated his refusal to invite a democratically elected prime minister, Mr. Netanyahu, to the White House, an affront and clear attempt to aid those in Israel who lost in an undisputed election tally. Add in Biden’s ‘lop-sided’ policies regarding Iran and the Palestinians, it is no surprise that the long-standing and mutually beneficial U.S./Israel relationship is now clearly very strained.
In March of 2022, the president declared the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, “a pure thug” and “murderous dictator.” The veracity of these statements is not the issue. The question is, “is this useful foreign policy?” ‘Name-calling’ is what kids do, not global leaders.
Moving to Asia, in late June, just one day after Secretary of State Blinken returned from a ‘high stakes’ meeting in China for the purpose of smoothing an already damaged U.S./China relationship, Biden labelled Xi Jinping a ‘dictator.’ Blinken must have winced with pain. No doubt, Xi, who in March was given an unprecedented appointment for a third term as China’s president, winced with anger. Biden later doubled-down on that comment. Naturally, China responded to the Biden name-calling with fierce condemnation. Nonetheless, Biden denied that his ‘label’ “had any real consequences.” Such name-calling can only drive Russia and China closer. Is that what we want? Ugly labels from the president of the United States will have no more success in the Far East than they had in the Middle East. Indeed, on July 3, China announced that it would impose export restrictions against the U.S. on critical gallium and germanium minerals used in American computer chips and electric cars as well as in components for U.S. defense production. Causal relationship? Hard to say, but offended people generally like paybacks. Trade negotiations have been ongoing, but American insult diplomacy may have been the last straw.
Style apparently counts for our allies as well. On July 5, Niles Gardiner wrote a scathing denunciation of the president in Britain’s The Telegraph, maintaining “Biden has a long track record of knifing Britain in the back.” Among his list of complaints, Gardiner noted that Biden had “insultingly refused to attend the Coronation of King Charles III.” Added to this, the President inexplicably ended his June 14 gun control speech with “God save the Queen.” What does a Brit make of that?
At the White House’s June 22 reception for India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, the president temporarily put his hand to his heart when the Indian national anthem was played. Humorous, perhaps, but days later referred to Modi as China’s leader, no doubt far less humorous to Mr. Modi. Such accidents simply do not instill confidence.
At separate events on June 27 and June 28, the president told reporters that Putin “is clearly losing the war in Iraq.” Of course, he meant to say Ukraine, but that is not what came out. Biden’s innumerable gaffes, his multiple tripping episodes, and his horrifying Afghanistan withdrawal have all added to global disbelief in his leadership and American reliability. China has replaced us as a peace-maker in the Middle East, the Saudis have signed an agreement with Iran, the Abraham Accords are now jeopardized, and the administration is poised to allow a release of funds to Iran, the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism and a provider of weapons to the Russians as they battle in Ukraine against American weapons. Does that make any sense?
Without credible American leadership, there are dark days coming.