President Joe Biden has declared the end of “America First,” the foreign policy championed by former President Donald Trump that sought to prioritize the needs of Americans over international allies.
What did Biden do?
In separate speeches with international partners on Friday, Biden unveiled “his plans to dramatically reshape the U.S. foreign policy agenda,” according to the New York Post.
In his first speech to the Group of Seven — comprised of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom — Biden “declare[d] that America is back and the trans-Atlantic alliance is back,” an administration official told the Post. The G-7 meeting was closed to media.
The administration official added that Biden emphasized “the core proposition that the trans-Atlantic alliance is a cornerstone for American engagement in the world in the 21st century, just as it was in the 20th.”
Meanwhile, Biden pushed the same message during a speech to the Munich Security Conference, announcing that America is “not looking backward,” an implicit reference to Trump and the policies of the Trump administration, according to the New York Times.
More from the Times:
And then he went on to offer a 15-minute ode to the power of alliances. He talked about an America that was itself overcoming challenges to the democratic experiment.
…
In sharp contrast to Mr. Trump, who declined on several occasions to acknowledge the United States’ responsibilities under Article V of NATO to come to the aid of allies, he said “We will keep the faith” with the obligation. “An attack on one is an attack on all.”
What is the background?
Biden has spent the opening weeks of his presidency dismantling much of his predecessor’s policies.
Not only has Biden jettisoned Trump’s “America First” foreign policy approach, but Biden has rejoined the Paris Agreement on climate change, reversed Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization, and has signaled willingness to negotiate returning to the failed Iran nuclear deal.
“The United States would accept an invitation from the European Union High Representative to attend a meeting of the P5+1 and Iran to discuss a diplomatic way forward on Iran’s nuclear program,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week.
Biden was especially criticized this week over his willingness to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal.
In fact, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that negotiating with Iran will result in the Islamic nation obtaining nuclear weapons.
“Adopting the European Union model of accommodation will guarantee Iran a path to a nuclear arsenal,” Pompeo told the Washington Free Beacon.
