Shawn Fleetwood of the Federalist takes stock of Democratic presidents’ recent approach to world affairs.
“America must always lead on the world stage. If we don’t, no one else will.”
It would make sense if this were a quote from Ronald Reagan or Donald Trump. Both Republican leaders presided over historic foreign policy victories during their respective presidencies and understood the importance of American leadership on the world stage. But coming from the mouth of former President Barack Obama, the proclamation holds no weight.
Throughout his eight years in the Oval Office, Obama conducted what is arguably the most incompetent, anti-American foreign policy of any U.S. president in the modern era. Combining the worst elements of radical leftism and ignorance, Obama routinely downplayed American exceptionalism on the world stage, all the while alienating key allies and empowering the West’s greatest enemies. The often cited “leading from behind” quote from an Obama White House official isn’t just a perfect summation of how the 44th president tackled Libya or Iran or Arab Spring, but foreign policy writ large.
Now, after having served two terms as Obama’s second-in-command, President Joe Biden is attempting to replicate his former boss’s “America Last” approach to world affairs.
In less than three years, Biden has crippled American strength and credibility across the globe. U.S. adversaries such as China and Russia no longer fear the “big stick” America once carried. Instead, they’ve become increasingly aggressive and emboldened to act upon long-sought-after geopolitical objectives. One only needs to take a quick glance at the Indo-Pacific or Eastern Europe to see how unstable the world has become in the years Biden’s been president.
Contrary to industry “experts,” the Obama-Biden foreign policy agenda has ushered in a new world order devoid of American strength and leadership. It’s a legacy of failure and one that deserves further scrutiny if the United States has any interest in remaining a global hegemon.
