Biden Bids Farewell To UN, In Shadow Of Trump
Behind the smiles, as Joe Biden bids farewell to world leaders at the UN General Assembly this week, will be one goal — shoring up his legacy against a possible White House comeback by Donald Trump.
Countries around the world are nervously watching November’s US presidential election amid fears that a Trump victory over Kamala Harris would bring back his hardline, isolationist foreign policy.
And as Biden makes his final appearance at the UN General Assembly in New York, after dropping out of the race in July and endorsing his vice president as the Democratic nominee, the 81-year-old is not taking any chances.
Viewing his presidency as a return from the brink after Republican Trump’s four years in the Oval Office, Biden will be trying to make sure his achievements are, in the words of one advisor, “irreversible.”
From his keynote address to the United Nations and a major climate speech on Tuesday, to talks on the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, Biden will be trying to lay the ground for US alliances and leadership that could outlast Trump.
“When President Biden came to office nearly four years ago he pledged to restore American leadership on the world stage,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with him to New York.
Biden would now use his UN address to outline his “vision” for how that should continue — and to “reaffirm how this approach has produced results for the American people and for the world,” she added.
His UN swan song is part of a wider attempt to burnish his legacy at home and abroad after a one-term presidency cut short when a disastrous debate against Trump fueled concerns about his age.
In an emotional moment Sunday, on the eve of the assembly, former president Bill Clinton presented Biden with the “Clinton Global Citizen Award” at a surprise ceremony in New York.
