In February 2021, two weeks after moving into the White House, President Biden reminded U.S. diplomats of his commitment to restoring American leadership in the world. In a speech at the State Department, he summed up the results of his election in three words: “America is back.”
Biden will confront the limits of that promise on Tuesday in his fourth and final address to the United Nations as president. The White House says Biden will argue that his “vision of a world where nations work together to solve big problems” has “delivered results and real achievements to the American people and the world” after the Trump era of isolationism and chaos alienated many world leaders.
But Biden faces a mountain of unresolved problems. After 11 months of fighting in Gaza, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has yet to materialize. An intensifying barrage of missiles across the Israeli-Lebanese border has threatened a multi-front war in the Middle East. And the war between Russia and Ukraine is well into its third year with no end in sight.
“America is back, he can claim that, but there are significant limitations to leadership,” said Aaron David Miller, a longtime Middle East peace negotiator who has advised presidents of both parties. “I think the Biden administration is a lesson in how complex and surprising the international situation is, and the limits of American power.”
White House officials previewed Biden’s speech on Monday evening on condition of anonymity but offered few specifics. They said Biden will address a range of issues, including the climate crisis, the environment, the need to strengthen humanitarian aid in conflict zones such as Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, and the impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Biden, who arrived in New York on Monday evening, is also scheduled to meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday to discuss UN and US efforts to promote peace, protect human rights and help countries develop. He is also scheduled to host a coalition conference to address the global opioid crisis.
Aides said Biden is likely to meet with world leaders one-on-one several times between summits, a key tool for a president who has long been a deep believer in the power of personal relationships as a diplomatic tool. Biden is scheduled to meet with Vietnam’s new president on Wednesday, White House officials said. On Wednesday evening, he is hosting a reception for world leaders and senior U.N. officials at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
But his address to world leaders on Tuesday morning will be the highlight of his visit to the United Nations and a farewell address of sorts for Biden, who has served on the world stage for more than 50 years as a senator, including chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, vice president and president.
“He’s someone who for decades has operated at the highest levels, talked to leaders around the world, and felt he protected and advanced American interests,” said John B. Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “This is that funeral.”
Biden’s speech is not expected to be political, but it will certainly be delivered in a political context at a time when America’s future role in the world is highly uncertain. If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the November presidential election, her foreign policy will likely reflect Biden’s own views on American engagement in the world. If former President Donald J. Trump wins, it will mark a return to his isolationist stance, with Trump making little use of international organizations such as the United Nations.
White House officials said with that in mind, Biden plans to use his speech to call for strengthening the United Nations and reforming and expanding the UN Security Council, though there is only so much he can do with four months left in his term.
“When he looks at the world, he sees, if you have to choose, a migraine or a root canal,” said Miller, the Middle East peace negotiator. “There’s no problem that has a comprehensive solution, so it’s all about managing a world that can’t be changed. And I think that’s a far cry from where he stood in January 2021 and from the expectations the world had for Joe Biden.”
