Biden’s Presidential Run: Competing with Diplomacy

Published in Sankei Shimbun
(Japan) on 29 April 2023
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Dorothy Phoenix. Edited by Wes Vanderburgh.
Democratic President Joe Biden has declared his candidacy for reelection in next November's presidential race.

To become the party’s nominee, Biden must first make it through the presidential primaries and caucuses. However, he has almost unanimous support within the Democratic Party, and at this point, it is highly likely the party will choose him as their nominee at the Democratic National Convention next August.

On the other hand, Biden is now 80 years old, breaking the record as the oldest president in history. If he is reelected, he will be 82 years old when he begins his second term in January 2025, and he will be 86 if he finishes out his second four-year term.

Many people have voiced concerns about whether Biden can withstand diminished judgment due to old age and the stresses of hard work.

The U.S. president is also the commander in chief of the military, leaving the decision to use nuclear weapons to the people.* Biden must dispel concerns about his health by being active in the campaign and by showing that he can carry out his normal duties from this point on.

The Republican Party, which seeks to regain political power, has decided to investigate Biden's son, Hunter, on suspicions that he received large sums of money from foreign businesses.

While many of the details of these allegations are still unclear, Biden must hold himself accountable.

During presidential elections, domestic affairs can easily become issues. Nevertheless, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's intensifying military pressure on Taiwan, diplomacy and security should be key issues in next year's election.

While Chinese and Russian despotism threatens liberalism, the rule of law and democratic values, isolationist sentiment is gathering force in some parts of the U.S.

In the midst of this, Biden has expressed "strong and unwavering" support for Ukraine. However, the issue has become a tug-of-war, as Ukraine seeks high-efficiency arms, such as F-16 fighter jets.

In the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump, who has announced his own candidacy and is aiming for a comeback, has described the United States' vast financial support for Ukraine as "very unfair." Gov. Ron DeSantis, another likely presidential candidate, described the Ukraine situation as a "territorial dispute," seemingly downplaying Russia's invasion.

The U.S. is a leader in supporting freedom and opposing despotic influence. The Democratic and Republican parties, regardless of who becomes the parties’ nominees, official candidate, should be aware of this responsibility as they approach the election.

*Editor’s note: For clarification purposes, the people of the United States do not decide on when to use nuclear weapons. In voting for a president, they may be making a choice about who they wish to be in charge of any decision to deploy nuclear weapons.


バイデン氏出馬へ 外交競い合う大統領選を

バイデン米大統領(民主党)が来年11月の大統領選に再選を目指して出馬すると表明した。

党の正式候補になるには予備選挙・党員集会を勝ち抜く必要がある。ただ、党内はバイデン氏への支持でほぼ一致しており、現時点では、来年8月の民主党全国大会で党候補に指名される公算が大きい。

一方、バイデン氏は現在80歳で、歴代の大統領で史上最高齢の記録を更新し続けている。再選された場合、2025年1月の2期目就任時には82歳、4年間の任期を全うすれば86歳になる。

高齢に起因する判断力の低下や激務に耐え得る健康状態の維持について懸念する声は根強い。

大統領は米軍の最高司令官でもあり、核兵器使用の決断を国民に委ねられている。バイデン氏は今後の選挙活動や日常の執務を通じて、健康をめぐる不安の一掃に努めることが欠かせない。

政権奪還を目指す共和党は、バイデン氏の息子、ハンター氏が海外企業から受領した多額の報酬をめぐる疑惑を追及する構えだ。

疑惑の実態には不明な部分も多いが、バイデン氏は自らの説明責任を果たさなくてはならない。

米大統領選は内政問題が主な争点になりやすい。だが、ロシアがウクライナを侵略し、中国が台湾への軍事的圧力を強める中、来年の大統領選では外交・安全保障問題も重要な争点として扱われることが望ましい。

中露など専制主義勢力が自由主義や法治主義、民主的価値観を脅かす中、米国の一部では孤立主義的な主張が勢いを増している。

そうした中でバイデン氏は、ウクライナに対する「揺るぎない支持」を表明している。ただ、F16戦闘機などの高性能兵器の供与を求めるウクライナとの間で綱引きとなっている。

共和党では、返り咲きを狙って大統領選への出馬を表明したトランプ前大統領が米国による巨額のウクライナ支援を「不公平だ」と断じた。出馬が有力視されるデサンティス・フロリダ州知事も、ウクライナ情勢を「領土紛争だ」と述べ、ロシアによる侵略を軽視するかのような姿勢をみせた。

米国は専制勢力に対抗して自由陣営をリードする立場にある。民主、共和両党とも、誰が正式候補になるにせよ、その責任を自覚して選挙に臨んでもらいたい。
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