Biden will urge nations to protect and nurture democracy

In a speech to the United Nations, President Biden is expected to promote his administration's achievements around the world, even as he faces domestic challenges .

President Biden on Tuesday will seek to focus global attention on the need to protect and nurture democracies, calling on the world to continue supporting Ukraine and urging advanced countries to do more to support the country's economies. developing world.

In his third speech as president of the United Nations, Mr. Biden is expected to promote his administration's achievements around the world, even as he faces domestic challenges: growing resistance to additional aid to Ukraine, a looming government shutdown, inflation and listless approval ratings ahead of next year's elections.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The president's speech Tuesday is the centerpiece of a week of international diplomacy as the Biden administration faces threats from Iran, tensions with Israel and slow efforts and fierce efforts of Ukraine to repel the Russian invasion.

Mr. Biden arrives at the United Nations at a time when he has asserted American leadership in world affairs and repaired many of the relationships that deteriorated under his unstable predecessor, Donald J. Trump. But with the next election approaching and tied with Mr. Trump in early polls, many other countries will greet the president with uncertainty about his ability to stay in power.

"He will outline to the world the steps he and his administration have taken to promote a vision of American leadership based on the principle of working with others to solve the world's most pressing problems," said Jake Sullivan , national director of the president. security advisor. "The president will explain how these steps - how all these steps he has taken so far translate into a broader vision."

After a long career in Senate and As vice president, Mr. Biden enjoys a strong reputation among his peers and is seen as a committed internationalist fighting the tide of isolationism. While the chaotic withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan has left bitter feelings among many traditional US allies, Mr. Biden has restored some of his global reputation by rallying the West and other allies against the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the fundamental foreign policy crisis of his presidency thus far. .

He also managed to forge a series of partnerships in the Indo-Pacific in the face of China's aggressive measures. It strengthened its relations with Australia, India, the Philippines and other countries in the region; elevated the status of a bloc called the Quad, consisting of the United States, India, Japan and Australia; he brought together the leaders of Japan and South Korea at Camp David for a three-way alliance that had long eluded Washington; and last week cemented a strategic relationship with Vietnam during his first visit to Hanoi.

At the same time, the two main American rivals appear weakened. Chinese President Xi Jinping appears less powerful on the international stage as his country's four-decade economic growth streak flattens while Russian President Vladimir V. Putin can't even make it to the United Nations meeting or at other major international gatherings due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Ukraine.

But with his approval ratings Mired in the 1940s and Mr. Trump threatening to retake his post in the November 2024 election, Mr. Biden's domestic political problems loom large at this year's meeting at the United Nations.