US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday responded to criticism of President Joe Biden’s performance in last week’s debate, saying his policies over the past three and a half years have increased confidence in American leadership in the world.
With global media outlets expressing concern over Biden’s performance in the debate against Donald Trump, Blinken was asked at a Brookings Institute event what “friends and foes” around the world should know about US leadership under Biden.
Blinken said people around the world are watching what Biden has done since taking office, not just overnight, and they appreciate his policies.
“They’ve seen a president who has reinvested in America, reinvested in America in the world, reinvested in these alliances, in these partnerships in the ways that they seek and want,” Blinken said.
Many Americans expressed disappointment in both candidates after last Thursday’s 90-minute debate on CNN. 81-year-old Democratic candidate Biden’s voice was hoarse from a cold, he stumbled in some answers and slurred during others. 78-year-old Republican Trump repeated a number of outrageous claims that have been proven false many times, including the claim that he actually won the 2020 election, but Biden did not refute them.
It was the first time since Thursday that Blinken, the top US diplomat and a longtime ally of Biden, was asked about the debate. He emphasized Biden’s performance in office.
“If you look at surveys done around the world, you’ll find over and over again that public confidence in American leadership has increased dramatically over the last three and a half years,” he said.
“It doesn’t just happen. … It’s a result of our policies, it’s a result of our engagement. And they see that President Biden has led in all of these different areas, and in ways that have brought people together and focused equally on the challenges that we have and that are common to many other countries.”
Biden supporters hoped the debate would allay concerns that he was too old for another term, but instead it fueled concerns. Some Democrats have called on Biden to drop out of the race.
Biden’s performance prompted a wave of concern in the global media. French newspaper Le Monde compared Biden to a shipwreck. Britain’s left-wing Daily Mirror called his performance a “blundering nightmare.” The Sydney Morning Herald said, “Trump demonizes Biden. Democrats can’t win with Joe.”
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