Biden’s Words

Joe Biden addressed America, as well as the world, in a prime-time speech. Or perhaps he addressed the world, as well as America, in that order. And what did the president of the United States say? He told the world, clearly, that the United States will support Israel’s right to defend itself and continue to support Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s invasion. Or, to put it another way, that no one should doubt that the largest economy in the world, and the country with the largest military budget, has the means to come to the aid of two allies simultaneously. An underlying subtext was that it has the means for even more than that — imagine, for example, that a serious conflict between Taiwan and China erupts, and America is asked to come to the rescue of yet another ally.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s response to Hamas’ terrorist attack, and an eventual Chinese attempt at reunification by force may not appear to be connected, but Biden referred to the first two as threats to democracy, and said that therefore the United States had a moral obligation not to fail to engage, even if it meant requesting emergency funding from Congress. Inertia would, in the end, prove to be much more costly, Biden asserted. It would also, he claimed, help prevent future wars in which American soldiers might have needed to be directly involved. And, even though America stands resolutely by Israel’s side, this did not keep him from reaffirming support for the right to Palestinian self-determination in a defense of the old two-state solution, one Jewish and one Arab. He made it clear that he did not wish to see America pushed to support just one of the two sides exclusively. Any eventual negotiated solution, even if it seems almost impossible at this point, will require America to play a role.

The world listened carefully to what the American president had to say, and there have been plenty who have begun to reach conclusions about the impact of Biden’s emotional 15-minute speech. The fact that Hamas freed two American hostages just hours later may not have been a coincidence.

America also listened to its president. The next presidential election will take place just a little more than a year from now, and Biden — who will only be kept from seeking a second term if his health prevents it — called for unity and denounced antisemitism and Islamophobia alike. If Jews in America are Americans, so are the many Muslims, Arabs and Palestinian Americans. In a divided America, in which many millions feel Donald Trump would be a better president and should return to the White House, Biden wanted to create a clear contrast and pledged that the nation would remain true to its democratic ideals. In doing so, he spoke of the United States as a beacon — not just to itself, but also the rest of the world.

This was a speech filled with geopolitical messages directed at the rest of the world, as well as one with plenty of underlying political messages for domestic consumption. And it was above all the speech of a very emotional man — a supremely experienced politician, but no less an emotional one. We will have to wait and see how the real world, abroad as well in America, reacts to Biden’s words.