Joe BidenB次元官网网址檚 injects greater uncertainty into the world at a time when Western leaders are grappling with wars in Ukraine and Gaza, a more assertive China in Asia and the rise of the far right in Europe.
During a , Biden developed extensive personal relationships with multiple foreign leaders that none of the potential replacements on the Democratic ticket can match. After his announcement, messages of support and gratitude for his years of service poured in from near and far.
The scope of foreign policy challenges facing the next U.S. president makes clear how consequential what happens in Washington is for the rest of the planet. HereB次元官网网址檚 a look at some of them.
ISRAEL
With being , Israelis on Sunday scrambled to understand what her candidacy would mean for their country as it confronts increasing global isolation over its military campaign against Hamas.
IsraelB次元官网网址檚 left-wing Haaretz daily newspaper ran a story scrutinizing HarrisB次元官网网址� record of support for Israel, pointing to her reputation as BidenB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渂ad copB次元官网网址� who has vocally admonished Israel for its offensive in Gaza. In recent months, she has gone further than Biden in calling for a cease-fire, denouncing IsraelB次元官网网址檚 invasion of Rafah and expressing horror over the civilian death toll in Gaza.
B次元官网网址淲ith Biden leaving, Israel has lost perhaps the last Zionist president,B次元官网网址� said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York. B次元官网网址淎 new Democratic candidate will upend the dynamic.B次元官网网址�
BidenB次元官网网址檚 staunch defense of Israel since HamasB次元官网网址� Oct. 7 attack has its roots in his half-century of support for the country as a senator, vice president, then president. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant thanked Biden for his B次元官网网址渦nwavering support of Israel over the years.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淵our steadfast backing, especially during the war, has been invaluable,B次元官网网址� Gallant wrote on social media platform X.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog praised Biden as a B次元官网网址渟ymbol of the unbreakable bond between our two peoplesB次元官网网址� and a B次元官网网址渢rue ally of the Jewish people.B次元官网网址� There was no immediate reaction from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an ally of former President Donald Trump whose history of cordial relations with Biden has come under strain during .
UKRAINE
Any Democratic candidate would likely continue BidenB次元官网网址檚 . But frustration with the Biden administration has grown in Ukraine and Europe over the slow pace of U.S. aid and restrictions on the use of Western weapons.
B次元官网网址淢ost Europeans realize that Ukraine is increasingly going to be their burden,B次元官网网址� said Sudha David-Wilp, director of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund, a research institute. B次元官网网址淓veryone is trying to get ready for all the possible outcomes.B次元官网网址�
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that he respected the B次元官网网址渢ough but strong decisionB次元官网网址� by Biden to drop out of the campaign, and he thanked Biden for his help B次元官网网址渋n preventing (Russian President Vladimir) Putin from occupying our country.B次元官网网址�
Trump has promised to end in one day if he is elected B次元官网网址� a prospect that has raised fears in Ukraine that Russia might be allowed to keep the territory it occupies.
TrumpB次元官网网址檚 vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, is among CongressB次元官网网址� most vocal opponents of U.S. aid for Ukraine and has further raised the stakes for Kyiv.
Russia, meanwhile, dismissed the importance of the race, insisting that no matter what happened, Moscow would press on in Ukraine.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 it for Biden,B次元官网网址� Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of RussiaB次元官网网址檚 Security council, said on the Telegram messaging app. B次元官网网址淭he goals of the special military operation will be achieved,B次元官网网址� he added, using the KremlinB次元官网网址檚 term for the war in Ukraine.
CHINA
In recent months, both Biden and Trump have tried to show voters who can best stand up to BeijingB次元官网网址檚 growing military strength and belligerence and protect U.S. businesses and workers from low-priced Chinese imports. Biden has hiked tariffs on electric vehicles from China, and Trump has promised to implement tariffs of 60% on all Chinese products.
TrumpB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淎merica FirstB次元官网网址� doctrine exacerbated tensions with Beijing. But disputes with the geopolitical rival and economic colossus over wars, trade, technology and security continued into BidenB次元官网网址檚 term.
ChinaB次元官网网址檚 official reaction to the U.S. presidential race has been careful.
B次元官网网址淭he U.S. elections are U.S. internal politics. I have no comment on this,B次元官网网址� said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.
The editor of the Communist Party-run Global Times newspaper, Hu Xijin, downplayed the impact of BidenB次元官网网址檚 withdrawal.
B次元官网网址淲hoever becomes the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party may be the same,B次元官网网址� he wrote on X.
IRAN
With IranB次元官网网址檚 proxies across the Middle East increasingly entangled in the Israel-Hamas war, the U.S. confronts a region in disarray.
YemenB次元官网网址檚 Iran-backed Houthis struck Tel Aviv for the first time last week, prompting retaliatory Israeli strikes inside war-torn Yemen. Simmering tensions and cross-border attacks between LebanonB次元官网网址檚 Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group and the Israeli military have raised fears of an all-out regional conflagration.
Hamas, which also receives support from Iran, continues to fight Israel even nine months into a war that has killed 38,000 Palestinians and displaced over 80% of GazaB次元官网网址檚 population.
The U.S. and its allies have accused Iran of and to an unprecedented 60%, near-weapons-grade levels.
After then-President Trump in 2018 withdrew from TehranB次元官网网址檚 landmark nuclear deal with world powers, Biden said he wanted to reverse his predecessorB次元官网网址檚 hawkish stance. But the Biden administration has maintained severe economic sanctions and overseen failed attempts to renegotiate the agreement.
The sudden death of Ebrahim Raisi B次元官网网址� the supreme leaderB次元官网网址檚 hard-line protege B次元官网网址� in a helicopter crash vaulted a new reformist to the presidency in Iran, generating new opportunities and risks. Masoud Pezeshkian has said he wants to help Iran open up to the world but has maintained a defiant tone against the U.S.
During a briefing Monday, Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, brushed off BidenB次元官网网址檚 withdrawal.
B次元官网网址淭o us, the coming and going of governments and persons on top of the U.S administration is not important on its own,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲hat can change the atmosphere of relations is a fundamental change in this (U.S.) hostile policy against the Islamic Republic of Iran.B次元官网网址�
EUROPE AND NATO
Many Europeans were happy to see Trump go after his years of disparaging the European Union and undermining NATO. TrumpB次元官网网址檚 seemingly dismissive attitude toward European allies in last monthB次元官网网址檚 presidential debate did nothing to assuage those concerns.
Biden, on the other hand, has supported close American relations with bloc leaders.
That closeness was on stark display after BidenB次元官网网址檚 decision to bow out of the race. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called his choice B次元官网网址減robably the most difficult one in your life.B次元官网网址� The newly installed British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he respected BidenB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渄ecision based on what he believes is in the best interests of the American people.B次元官网网址�
There was also an outpouring of affection from Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, who called Biden a B次元官网网址減roud American with an Irish soul.B次元官网网址�
The question of whether NATO can maintain its momentum in supporting Ukraine and checking the ambitions of other authoritarian states hangs in the balance of this presidential election, analysts say.
B次元官网网址淭hey donB次元官网网址檛 want to see Donald Trump as president. So thereB次元官网网址檚 quite a bit of relief but also quite a bit of nervousnessB次元官网网址� about BidenB次元官网网址檚 decision to drop out, said Jeremy Shapiro, research director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. B次元官网网址淟ike many in the United States, but perhaps more so, they are really quite confused.B次元官网网址�
MEXICO
The close relationship between Mexico and the U.S. has been marked in recent years by disagreements over trade, energy and climate change. Since President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador took power in 2018, both countries have found common ground on issue of migration B次元官网网址� with Mexico making it more difficult for migrants to cross its country to the U.S. border and the U.S. not pressing on other issues.
The L贸pez Obrador administration kept that policy while Trump was president and continued it into BidenB次元官网网址檚 term.
On Friday, MexicoB次元官网网址檚 president called Trump B次元官网网址渁 friendB次元官网网址� and said he would write to him to warn him against pledging to close the border or blaming migrants for bringing drugs into the United States.
B次元官网网址淚 am going to prove to him that migrants donB次元官网网址檛 carry drugs to the United States,B次元官网网址� he said, adding that B次元官网网址渃losing the border wonB次元官网网址檛 solve anything, and anyway, it canB次元官网网址檛 be done.B次元官网网址�
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