Donald Trump and Joe Biden hold opposite stances on nearly everything, such as their communication styles, but they also differ in deeper ways. This goes especially for foreign policy.
Trump’s foreign policy was cast in the image of his “America First” slogan, and founded on unilateralism and populism. But during his 2016 election campaign, it was not fully developed; its main thrust was simply to overturn the achievements of his predecessor, Barack Obama. As a result, during his first term, he has been desperate to fulfill this goal.
He has been constrained by two realities, however. One is the enduring tendency for America to play a role as a strong yet benevolent country, which is predominant among American foreign policy institutions, including diplomats, generals and think tanks.
The other is the lesson learned by the majority of past American presidents, especially by George W. Bush on 9/11, in addition to the rising power of China and other emerging nations: that despite its military might, America is increasingly ineffective at enforcing its will around the globe.
Trump Is Not a Militarist
Although Trump’s character is ruthless and brutal, it must be acknowledged that he has not followed a militaristic foreign policy as did Bush, who after 9/11 launched a war on terrorism that included the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan with catastrophic consequences that are still ongoing.
Nonetheless, after a 20% reduction in military spending under Obama, Trump increased it by 10%. He has expanded both manpower and material for the military, but only for dissuading other nations from attacking the United States, since he has expressed a strong aversion to overseas troop interventions.
Exactly like Obama, Trump has preferred diplomacy. Yet, whereas Obama built multilateral consensus among allies, Trump relies on forceful unilateral methods in dealings with individual countries. Hence his admiration for Vladimir Putin’s muscular foreign policy.
Trump has thus often been criticized for ignorance of international realities; moreover, he does not even read his advisers’ reports on foreign affairs. Such impulsive and irrational behavior can principally be explained by his inexperience, since prior to the presidency Trump never held public office, nor did he ever deal with America’s foreign policy institutions.
Biden’s Experience
Biden has a richer political resumé than Trump, having served 36 years in the Senate and eight as vice president. During his time in the Senate, he chaired its Foreign Relations Committee, making numerous trips abroad and gaining a reputation as an expert on America’s standing in the world.
Given his place in the Democratic Party’s right wing, he has taken some controversial positions in his career. He voted for American intervention in Iraq in 2002, for example, but was critical of American management of the post-invasion situation there, and beginning in 2006, argued for withdrawal as well as disengagement with Afghanistan.
In 2008, then-presidential candidate Obama chose Biden as his running mate as a defense against accusations that he lacked experience, especially in foreign policy.
A More Peaceful World with Biden?
Given how, after his inauguration, Trump went about dismantling everything Obama accomplished diplomatically, it seems clear from his statements that a President Biden would immediately start doing the same with Trump’s foreign policy achievements. His statements on everything concerning American foreign relations are completely in line with Obama’s goals while in office.
Trump’s unraveling of his predecessor’s multilateralism will therefore be reversed. American support for U.N. organizations such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization will be reinstated, and so will NATO’s trans-Atlantic network, which has often been reviled by Trump.
Furthermore, Biden has announced that Trump’s withdrawal in November 2019 from the 2015 Paris climate agreement will be overturned “from day one” of his presidency, and on Oct. 22, 2020, he declared that he would withdraw public funding for the oil industry and use it to benefit the renewable energy industry.
As for American relations with Russia and China, meanwhile, they might also reverse course. The trade war with China that Trump started may give way to more constructive dialog, and Trump’s overt liking for Putin may cool down again given how so many countries demand that human right be enforced everywhere.
In the area of nuclear arms control, Trump’s termination on May 8, 2018, of the 2015 Iran nuclear treaty will be halted and Biden will reinstate negotiations. Also, Trump’s 2019 decision not to renew the 1987 intermediate ballistic missile treaty with Russia will be reversed, while his veto of renewing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expires in February 2021.
Concerning Israel, Biden has stated that he will keep the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem following Trump’s May 14, 2018, decision to move it there from Tel Aviv, but he has also stated that he favors a Palestinian state alongside Israel, which is contrary to Trump’s January 2020 peace plan.
With Biden, American foreign policy could once again become more rational, understandable and certainly better for global security. As Obama has said, “Yes, he can.”
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