Biden Admin’s Foreign Policy Impact on the World

President Joe Biden speaks at a press conference in Ottawa, Canada, on March 24, 2023. (Andrej Ivanov/AFP/Getty Images)

Commentary

The Biden administration’s military, diplomatic, trade, and economic policies are turning America into an irrelevant bystander on the world stage.

Is the American century over?

It is if the Biden administration has anything to say about it. A catalog of policy decisions since Joe Biden took office provides a clear and utterly damning picture that all the world sees.

America Withdraws From Leadership

This “Biden Gap” that consists of the rapid decline in both America’s will to lead and its ability to do so is quickly unraveling the U.S. postwar order.

America’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, which left 13 Americans dead, and hundreds more stranded in Afghanistan, is emblematic of our absence of influence over the world’s affairs today. By withdrawing the way in which we did, the Biden administration armed our adversaries in the region to the teeth with billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. tanks, aircraft, weaponry, and other advanced fighting material. It also left our allies bitter at our betrayal and emboldened our enemies.

There are several consequences to such actions, and we’re seeing them now. Much of the world has stopped looking to America for guidance and leadership. As a result, China is rapidly displacing the United States as the world’s economic, political, and even military leader.

Sadly, there are plenty of examples of this.

Europe Sees China as the Global Power

For instance, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were recently in Beijing, trying to convince Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping to tell Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.

They were also angling to increase trade with China. The United States isn’t even a part of the conversation, even though it’s the primary source of arms for Ukraine’s war with Russia.

What does that tell us about what the world thinks about America’s leadership capabilities under the Biden administration?

Everything.

Beijing the Peacemaker?

The recent peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran brokered by China is another example of the “Biden Gap” that’s fueling American irrelevance. Just a few years ago, it was the United States under the Trump administration that was brokering historic peace deals between Israel and several Islamic countries.

Not anymore.

If anything, the Biden administration is backstabbing Israel, our only ally in the region, and emboldening Iran by treating the mullahs in Tehran better than it does the Israeli government.

Hong Kong is another example. Once the Biden administration was in office, Beijing swiftly took over Hong Kong without any response from the United States. Yes, the pandemic played a role, but the Biden administration did nothing to dissuade, deter, or punish the CCP for breaking the 50-year agreement they made regarding Hong Kong.

Japan Rushes to Fill Biden Gap in Far East

In the Far East, Japan is re-arming itself as quickly as possible, especially in light of the real possibility that China will invade Taiwan at some point in the near future. It has also notified the United States that it will no longer be a passive partner in its defense. In fact, as a result of China’s aggressive posture in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan will be selling arms to its regional neighbors such as the Philippines, Malaysia, and others, as well as doubling its defense budget over the next few years.

Killing the Dollar

All of these actions by Japan are in response to the growing doubts about America’s willingness and capabilities to live up to its security guarantees in the region. Additionally, the Biden administration has added several trillion in debt, which has triggered inflation. All of these events and policies have undercut the world’s confidence in America and turned many nations against using the U.S. dollar, endangering its reserve status.

The Border Gap Widens

Closer to home, the open U.S.–Mexico border is both figuratively and literally the most compelling symbol of the Biden Gap. Along with millions of illegal aliens entering the country, tons of fentanyl (made in China) are, too, killing our young people at record levels. Chinese nationals, cartel criminals, and human trafficking are all thriving as the Biden Gap continues to widen. Meanwhile, morale in the Border Patrol is at an all-time low.

A Reversal of the Trump Years

It’s important to note that President Donald Trump faced the very same challenges that Joe Biden has faced, but accomplished very different outcomes for America.

For example, during the last two years of the Trump administration, when Beijing was doing all it could to bring Hong Kong to heel, Trump tied tariffs on Chinese goods to the CCP’s behavior toward Hong Kong.

In Afghanistan, the phased withdrawal that was planned during the Trump administration was abandoned. The Biden team replaced it with the tragedy that occurred, and from which America has yet to recover and the world remembers all too well.

As for the U.S.–Mexico border, illegal crossings were down and the “Remain in Mexico” policy reduced the flow of migrants crossing into the United States.

In every aspect, strategically, militarily, politically, financially, and even concerning our own border, the Biden administration is deconstructing the American-led world order at a breath-taking pace. And at every turn, as America fades from its self-inflicted wounds, China is filling the void.

The world may survive the widening Biden Gap, but will America?

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.