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00:00President Joe Biden of the United States speaking at the State Department, giving very much
00:05the upsum of his time in the White House from the aspect of foreign policy, touching on
00:12all the big stories of course of the past four years, but especially on the situation
00:16in Ukraine, the Middle East, he talked about Afghanistan, but also set down two key challenges
00:22he would hope that the next administration would take forward.
00:25They would involve how to cope with the onset of artificial intelligence, but also clean
00:31energy transition, two key dossier, he says, which will shape the future.
00:36And he says, and he said this with quite a lot of passion, nothing is beyond our capacity.
00:42He was talking about the United States of America and all the people in front of him.
00:45And he said, we are the USA for God's sake.
00:47That's what he said.
00:48Biden there, very impassioned.
00:51Douglas Herbert, our international affairs commentator, has been watching this alongside
00:54me.
00:55Doug, you mentioned before this speech took place, took forward, sorry, was done, that
01:01people would watch this and perhaps be sceptical about what Biden was saying.
01:05What do you think they'll be thinking now?
01:06Well, first of all, I mean, he definitely delivered the speech fired up with conviction
01:11and a very muscular, strong speech.
01:16This was not a man withering on the vine.
01:19This was not a man who was, you know, failing in his cognitive capacities.
01:24This was a man who very much seemed in possession of not just his ideas and convictions, but
01:29the ability to deliver the message.
01:31And there may be people watching that saying they wish they had seen more of that Joe Biden,
01:35perhaps, you know, earlier on the campaign trail and at other points in his presidency
01:40and perhaps selling himself better and selling what he clearly sees as very, very proud achievements
01:46better to ordinary Americans.
01:48It seems that in this final sprint now, you know, he's bearing, he's pushing forward with
01:52an optimistic conviction.
01:54But look, the reality is that he never envisioned having to basically be a blip on the radar
02:01between two Trump administrations.
02:04He saw himself as a bridge to perhaps a new type, a younger type of America, a more dynamic
02:11America, America perhaps more forged in his own vision and his ideals.
02:15And instead, he may be remembered at least in the short term and perhaps the medium and
02:19long term as a president, a one term president who ended up handing the mantle back to a
02:24predecessor that he has made very clear publicly and privately that he couldn't disagree with
02:30more on just about every question imaginable.
02:34But look, the speech itself, you know, it's interesting.
02:37Biden said he was at the U.N. General Assembly back in September and he said things can get
02:44better even in a world that seems to be absolutely submerged, enveloped in crises.
02:52And it's that sort of resilient vision.
02:54It's that sort of purpose.
02:55And you could hear it in his voice.
02:57It's a mixture of optimism, but also laced with frustration, perhaps that he won't be
03:02there to carry the task forward, that America can continue to deliver and deliver noticeably
03:08on what he sees as the vision of what America was forged to do.
03:11He said it was forged on an idea.
03:13An idea is to lead not just by the example of power, but as he put it, the power of example.
03:20And he repeated the themes that have been really the thread, the leitmotif, if you will,
03:24Mark, throughout his presidency, that as he sees it, America is today, as he prepares
03:29to leave it in about a week's time, as he hands off to Donald Trump, it is stronger
03:35at home and stronger abroad.
03:36He says the alliances, its partnerships on the world stage are stronger.
03:42U.S. leadership itself is stronger.
03:45And perhaps just as importantly, and he really he went on at length about this, the adversaries
03:51are weaker adversaries, which we know who Joe Biden says, whether we're talking about
03:57Russia or Iran or China, he noticeably said China will never surpass us.
04:03There was a time when everyone was talking about China overtaking the United States within
04:07a couple of years.
04:08He says that hasn't happened.
04:09Russia.
04:10He made a very noticeable sort of shot across the bow of Vladimir Putin, saying when the
04:15war, the invasion began of Ukraine in 2022, Vladimir Putin thought he would be in Kiev
04:20in three days.
04:21He said, well, as of today, I'm the only one.
04:24I'm the only president who has stood in the center of Kiev.
04:28Putin hasn't been standing in the center of Kiev.
04:31So another shot across the bow to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, he says that in his
04:36private meetings with him, he has time and again impressed on Xi that basically, you
04:41know, China has to abide by and respect international rules, you know, rules of civility and a general
04:49world order in which nations cooperate.
04:51So this is going to be the theme, the legacy, if you will, the signature policy of Joseph
04:56Biden, this conviction that America is at its best when it is working, setting an example,
05:02forging alliances, forging an example of U.S. leadership, both at home and abroad.
05:09And he was very clear, finally, to underscore what he is clearly very proud of, and perhaps
05:14once again, something he has undersold, his hundreds of billions of dollars of investment
05:19in climate initiatives, environmental initiatives, and rebuilding infrastructure initiatives.
05:25Perhaps if he had not used the word infrastructure early in his administration and said jobs
05:30instead, we're creating jobs, call it what FDR did during the New Deal.
05:34It's about jobs, my fellow Americans, perhaps Americans would have seen him through a slightly
05:37different optic.
05:38He used big clunky terms.
05:40He never really sold it.
05:41But today, with a week left in his presidency, he did put forward that vision and he did
05:46it in a very muscular manner.
05:48Douglas, thank you very much indeed.
05:50Let's bring in Garrett Martin, co-director of the Transatlantic Policy Center at the
05:54American University.
05:55Garrett, thanks for being with us.
05:57Doug, saying that Joe Biden was the only president to stand in the center of Kiev, obviously
06:04sort of thumbing his nose in some ways at Vladimir Putin, would you say that Ukraine
06:10is the key issue that dominates the foreign policy domain when you think of Biden?
06:16Yes, I think that's fair to elevate that as probably the most significant element, because
06:21I think it was obviously the one that was not expected at the start of his administration,
06:25but one that certainly has taken a huge amount of effort, a huge amount of treasury.
06:30And probably I would say also, if this speech is about also putting a positive gloss on
06:35his record, I think it's the area where arguably I think that certainly has improved or have
06:40outperformed expectations.
06:41I mean, remember, not many people thought that Ukraine could hold out for long.
06:47And so building this large coalition for multiple years, keeping Ukraine still independent
06:52was hoped.
06:53I think that's not surprising that that was the issue put forward.
06:57Leading by the power of the example rather than power, again, something that Biden said,
07:02a rather pithy phrase.
07:04Do you think that is actually the case, that his foreign policy has been very much about
07:08that?
07:11I think it is, I mean, to a certain degree.
07:14I mean, I think if you remember also in his inaugural, like, you know, speech four years
07:19ago, there was very little said about foreign policy.
07:21I mean, understandably, it was after January 6th.
07:24It was in the context of COVID.
07:26But the few lines that were mentioned were about sort of bringing the United States leadership
07:30back and repairing alliances.
07:32So I think that's an element where that has been a great focal point.
07:37It has not always been successful, but I think it's fair to say that it's been a fundamental
07:42thread of the approach, of the Biden approach to international affairs in the last four
07:47years.
07:48And very much the antithesis of Donald Trump's previous administration and probably about
07:53what's going to come next.
07:55Yes, I mean, it's hard to imagine a leopard changing that spot in general, let alone a
08:0170 year old, 78 year old leopard here in this case.
08:04I think it's certainly likely that we will, for instance, you know, he mentioned rejoining
08:11the Paris Climate Accords from day one.
08:14There is a risk that from day one, we get yet another withdrawal from the Paris Climate
08:18Accords.
08:19So there will certainly be some action to really clearly undo what Trump, what Biden
08:26has done.
08:27And we'll see that with Trump.
08:28However, you know, keep in mind that on certain areas, you know, where the competition with
08:31China trade policy and others, there's there's a slightly more degree of continuity, even
08:37if not in style, between Biden and Trump.
08:40So I expect that to continue.
08:43Biden said they are dead wrong, those who don't believe that climate change is happening.
08:46Clearly, that was aimed at Donald Trump.
08:48He says the clean energy transition is one of those two areas he hopes the new administration
08:53will take up because they are key to the development of the United States and the world going forward,
08:58AI being the other one.
08:59That issue of clean energy transition, I mean, that is really the exact opposite of what
09:04Trump is about, isn't it?
09:06Yes.
09:07There's certainly some areas where there will be an abrupt shift.
09:11I assume, of course, some of it here is to keep those issues alive, to make sure that,
09:16yes, because a Trump administration will not be forever, that even if there are some steps
09:21taken back in the next four years, that it's going to be important for successes and hopefully,
09:26obviously, for Biden, hoping a Democratic administration afterwards, that they don't
09:31lose track of this all important issue about the future.
09:34I think he knows the next four years might not be easy on some of these key issues that
09:38he believes in, and he has invested time and treasury, but it's important not for those
09:43issues to sort of remain ignored for too long either.
09:46And, of course, there was one country sort of weighing over both the AI and the clean
09:51energy transition aspects.
09:53That is China.
09:55Biden there saying that the same mistake must be made as in the past of letting this development
10:00go to another country, i.e. China.
10:02He was thinking of how, I suppose, microchip technology, semiconductors, those kind of
10:07issues became something that wasn't under completely the control of the United States,
10:12stressing that he sees AI as something that really needs to be directed by the US as well
10:17as this clean energy transition.
10:19Yes, I think on that level, I do see a certain continuity.
10:24I mean, there is an attempt to try and rebuild a manufacturing base, I think started to a
10:29degree under Donald Trump and has continued under Biden, an attempt to kind of reshore
10:34certain key aspects of the supply chain.
10:36So on that issue, and the fact that also keep in mind, it's not just about the president
10:41as well.
10:42It's also there is wide ranging, I think, agreement.
10:46One of the rare issues where there is bipartisan agreement even in Congress on the need for
10:50competition with China and for investing on AI.
10:53So I think that's an area where you can expect, even if the actual tactics and the means to
10:57try and achieve those goals might be different from one administration to another.
11:01I don't anticipate that that thread is going to be lost even under a Trump administration.
11:05Garrett, can I just change tack, take you back to talk about the Middle East.
11:09Clearly another, just as Ukraine, what's happened in the Middle East, of course, is something
11:13that will really, I think, in the pages of history, there'll be a chapter on Biden's
11:17tactics.
11:18So what happened there, the support without any kind of hesitation of Israel's situation
11:24and, of course, extra funding given towards Israel to continue its bombardment of Gaza,
11:28which we've seen so far more than 46,000 people killed.
11:33Is this going to be a dark mark against Biden, do you think?
11:38Well, I think certainly if you look at it domestically, absolutely.
11:43I think in the sense that this was a very divisive issue for his electorate, and I think
11:47certainly it played a part.
11:49It wasn't the only reason, but certainly played a part in Kamala Harris not defeating Donald
11:54Trump.
11:55I think this was an issue that created a lot of passion, a lot of frustration and anger
11:59domestically.
12:00I think internationally also, I don't think it's necessarily helped the U.S. leadership.
12:06And I think certainly it also shows, I mean, the limits of American power at times.
12:12Biden talked about the indispensable power, about the, you know, the abilities to marshal
12:17actors together, but the inability to get a lasting ceasefire or a lasting end to the
12:24fighting after more than a year of really actively trying.
12:28I mean, certainly there was no shortage of attempts to mediate, but that shows some of
12:33the limits sometimes of even the United States, even the most important power in the world
12:37cannot always dictate events locally.
12:40Garrett Martin, co-director of the Transatlantic Policy Center at the American University.
12:45Thank you for being with us.
12:46Thank you for taking our questions.
12:47Thank you for sharing your analysis with us here on France 24.
12:50Pleasure to meet you.
12:51Thank you very much indeed.
12:53We continue our analysis, our correspondent in Washington, Fraser Jackson is now standing
12:57by.
12:58Fraser, of course, observing all matters for us, including Anthony Blinken and Joe Biden
13:03speaking at the State Department.
13:05Fraser joins us live.
13:06Give us more of a sense of how things were taken there, Fraser.
13:10What was the reaction where you are?
13:12Well, I think really this was Joe Biden's chance to really put down his mark of the
13:19last four years, to really set the tone for what he hopes will be the narrative as to
13:23how his presidency will be remembered.
13:26I heard from a source inside of the White House that this address was meant to take
13:29place some days ago, but has been kind of pushed back given recent events.
13:33Of course, the death of Jimmy Carter being one of them as well.
13:37But this really was something that Joe Biden wanted to give, a landmark foreign policy
13:42speech.
13:43Of course, foreign policy, not really something that the American populace normally really
13:47vote on, but it did have a significant impact in the most recent election.
13:52Therefore, quite interesting that Biden chose to leave a significant chunk on Israel and
13:59also the conflict in the Gaza Strip to the very kind of end of that speech.
14:05But it was definitely a speech that he hopes will set the tone, that will be something
14:09that people will build on as they reflect on Joe Biden's legacy, because of course,
14:16so many headlines over the course of the last year and a half or so have been dominated
14:20by his handling of that war in the Middle East, and a lot of people on both sides not
14:26happy with how he handled it.
14:29So Joe Biden trying to kind of round out, as it were, his foreign policy here to put
14:36things in a more flattering light for him, it could be argued.
14:39And of course, the foreign policy of the incoming administration, Trump administration, Mario
14:47Rubio, expected to be, sorry, Marco Rubio, expected to be the new head of foreign policy,
14:53secretary of state.
14:54It's going to be diametrically opposed.
14:55That's very likely, isn't it?
14:58There are definitely going to be some great big differences.
15:02We're also, however, you know, maybe looking at some areas which will be slightly more
15:06similar.
15:07If you look at some of the kind of common foes, as it were, that Republicans and Democrats
15:11have, you can definitely count Iran and China within those camps.
15:16But yes, of course, Donald Trump's America first policy, which dictated his entire first
15:22term, will be making a return.
15:25And now we've got arguably Marco Rubio heading up the State Department, somebody who is more
15:31of a career kind of politician, knows how Washington works.
15:33I'm hearing from sources inside the State Department that they were somewhat relieved
15:38that it was Marco Rubio and that it was not more of a kind of far-right unknown, as it
15:43were, who was somebody who would not know how to lead the department, but Marco Rubio
15:47much more of a kind of Washington staple.
15:49So sources inside the State Department breathing somewhat of a sigh of relief in that area.
15:55But the work will continue.
15:56And they have a lot of issues, a lot of areas that do need, of course, a lot of attention.
16:02The key thing for our audience in Europe and everybody who lives in Europe, really, is,
16:06of course, the war in Ukraine.
16:09Everybody is holding their breath to see how Donald Trump will handle that.
16:12He, of course, has said in the past that once he gets into office, he would have the war
16:16in Ukraine sorted within 24 hours.
16:19A lot of people believe that Donald Trump would simply tell Volodymyr Zelensky that
16:23he needs to effectively sue for peace and deal with the territory that has been lost
16:28just to put an end to the war.
16:30But, of course, that is a complete 180 from what the Biden administration's policy has
16:36been, where they've supplied billions of dollars' worth of weapons to the Ukrainians to continue
16:42that fight.
16:43And, of course, that was one of the big parts of Joe Biden's speech.
16:47He said that Vladimir Putin believed this war would be over in a matter of days and
16:51that instead it was he, Joe Biden, that had stood in the center of Kiev and not Vladimir
16:56Putin.
16:57So that is one of Joe Biden's crowning achievements of his foreign policy in the eyes of the White
17:02House.
17:03And there is worry that that is going to go 180 once Donald Trump gets into office.
17:09Of course, then the situation in the Middle East as well.
17:12We are now on the brink of a ceasefire deal, which has proved so elusive for the Biden
17:16administration.
17:17But I've heard from sources within Trump world that there has been many discussions between
17:22Trump and Netanyahu on this topic.
17:25Fraser Jackson in Washington, as always, thank you very much indeed.
17:28We'll bring you more reaction to Joe Biden's foreign policy speech as it happens.