President Joseph R. Biden will begin 2024 managing the same crises that defined his foreign policy in 2023. In both Ukraine and Israel, as well as in the Indo-Pacific, Mr. Biden tied U.S. power to a global crusade against rising autocracy. But as he runs for re-election, the president must balance his time and energy between, on one hand, managing the U.S. role in foreign wars of questionable popularity and, on the other, pressing domestic issues such as high prices and border chaos.
In this episode of History As It Happens, The Washington Times’ national security team leader Guy Taylor and military and foreign affairs correspondent Ben Wolfgang look ahead to the fourth year of Mr. Biden’s foreign policy agenda. From the start of his presidency, Mr. Biden has vowed to reassert U.S. influence after the chaotic, norm-shattering term of Donald J. Trump. In doing so, however, the president may have limited his room for maneuver by committing the U.S. to assisting countries whose security is not a vital U.S. interest but for his framing of a historic struggle against authoritarians.
The administration is expected to face growing resistance among congressional Republicans to funding Ukraine’s defense as it becomes more evident that Kyiv cannot regain all its lost territory from Russia. Meantime, E.U. states are falling behind on weapons shipments to Ukraine.
In the Middle East, Mr. Biden’s unflinching support for Israel in the face of skyrocketing Palestinian casualties is alienating younger liberals whose votes he must have come November. And the U.S. relationship with China will remain a priority after showing mild signs of a thaw during a November summit.
History As It Happens is available at washingtontimes.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
