When President Joe Biden took office, he pledged to “repair” America’s alliances, “engage with the world once again” and demonstrate the United States’ diplomatic power. Those in Biden’s orbit pitched a return to normalcy but with more openness to progressive voices on foreign policy.
As he leaves, progressives are disappointed at best and furious at worst. The majority of the U.S. disapproves of Biden’s job on foreign policy. In Washington, nonprofit organizations like Amnesty International have accused his administration of refusing to see human rights violations and said the U.S. is complicit in war crimes in Gaza. Democratic lawmakers in Congress have plenty of criticism for how Biden has handled the relationship with Israel and the deaths of U.S. civilians in the region.
“This is where the commitment to human rights, international law, the commitment to, you know, sort of rules-based order, is tested,” Allison McManus, an international policy expert at the liberal Center for American Progress, said. “And, I just, I think he fails the test.”