And of course, the next administration’s interest in infrastructure spending to boost jobs and restore our roads and railways should sound familiar, too. Let’s get on with the three reasons that even conservatives will love Biden... REASON NO. 1: BIDENWILL RECLAIM AMERICA’S ROLE IN THE FREEWORLD On the global stage, the United States has become a loner bully. Under Trump’s “America First” approach to foreign relations, the U.S. ignored or abandoned long-held multilateral commitments, like NATO, the Treaty on Open Skies for arms control, and the World Health Organization. It adopted a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately approach to economic, diplomatic, and military relations with long-time allies around the world. And in so doing, the U.S. has retreated from its longtime role as the grownup in the room – ceding it to China or, more often, no one at all. As Biden wrote in a spring 2020 in Foreign Affairs magazine about his plans to revive U.S. foreign policy... The Biden foreign policy agenda will place the United States back at the head of the table, in a position to work with its allies and partners to mobilize collective action on global threats... For 70 years, the United States... played a leading role in writing the rules, forging the agreements, and animating the institutions that guide relations among nations and advance
collective security and prosperity—until Trump. The task ahead, Biden says, is to “salvage our reputation, rebuild confidence in our leadership, and mobilize our country and our allies to rapidly meet new challenges.” Let’s not forget... in the seven or so decades before Donald Trump, American leadership in the world was a given – regardless of domestic politics. From Dwight Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush, Republican presidents have made defending American values around the world a cornerstone of foreign policy. And fighting the Cold War wasn’t a go-it- alone mission... NATO and an alphabet soup of other organizations and alliances bolstered the American effort to defeat Soviet communism. How effective was it? Just ask one of America’s chief rivals – Vladimir Putin. During his 20- plus years in power, the Russian president has done everything he can to splinter NATO to damage the enduring U.S.-Europe alliance – which has helped create what by some measures has been the longest period of global peace in many centuries. And Biden will stand up for America again. Will he be able to do it? Perhaps. But he has work to do... The U.S. over the past four years has proven that it’s not a reliable friend. The broken alliances and trampled traditions of the Trump government won’t be forgotten. No matter how much President Biden smiles, the rest of the world won’t forget that America is a
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