In the first 2024 debate, Biden and Trump may spar over foreign policy
Foreign policy is supposed to be a specialty of President Joe Biden, but in the debate Thursday with Donald Trump, he could easily find himself thrown on the defensive.
WASHINGTON — Foreign policy is supposed to be a specialty of President Joe Biden, but in the debate Thursday with Donald Trump, he could easily find himself thrown on the defensive.
Two wars began on Biden’s watch, an opening for Trump to argue that despite Biden’s ample experience and global contacts as a former senator and vice president, the world seems a more dangerous place now than when Trump left office, some foreign policy experts argue.
It’s a simple argument that obscures many of the complicating realities of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war with Hamas. Biden assembled an international coalition that kept Russia from marching straight into Kyiv, and he supplied needed weapons to Israel after Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7.
Twice he put himself in jeopardy by traveling to war zones in Kyiv and Tel Aviv.
Yet in a 90-minute debate defined by rapid-fire questions and snappy retorts, Biden may find it difficult to muster a persuasive response in real time.
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