A first look at Biden’s foreign-policy legacy

The interesting times continue: On Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection. An incumbent president suspending his campaign is shocking, but not unprecedented—in 1968, Lyndon B. Johnson stepped aside seven months before the election. The outcome of Johnson’s resignation will not bring much comfort to jittery partisans, Princeton’s Julian E. Zelizer noted Sunday, because that year the GOP won the White House. “Although the short-term outlook at the time was bleak for Democrats,” Zelizer wrote, “a new coalition took hold” rooted in the coasts and cosmopolitan areas of the Midwest. In that sense, Zelizer argues, this moment of crisis for the Democratic Party presents opportunities, too.

U.S. allies will continue to closely watch developments, as FP’s Robbie Gramer and Amy Mackinnon reported after Biden’s announcement. The results of the election will be “decisive for the unity of the entire Western world and the fate of many countries,” Marko Mihkelson, an Estonian parliamentarian, told FP. As Gramer reported in FP’s Situation Report newsletter, some 20 European ambassadors showed up to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week. Former President Donald Trump’s pick of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate wouldn’t have assuaged their fears that the party’s isolationist faction is winning. During his 2022 campaign for Senate, Vance said he didn’t care what happened to Ukraine “one way or the other.”

The potential shift in U.S. foreign policy represented by the Trump-Vance ticket is all the more significant because, as FP’s Michael Hirsh wrote, Biden worked to fulfill the expectations of the postwar consensus in favor of U.S. global leadership. As president, Hirsh wrote, Biden bridged two eras with great agility: the post-World War II era of bold U.S. internationalism, and a new Washington of populist neoprotectionism and anti-interventionism.

In 2021, Hirsh argued in a deep dive on “Bidenomics” that if the president was able to follow through on his “new brand of industrial policy and economic nationalism,” he would succeed in casting “onto history’s ash heap the ruling doctrine of the past 40 years: Reaganomics.” The ash heap must be smoldering—Hirsh concluded on Sunday that whereas Biden’s Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, embraced much of the so-called neoliberal consensus, 81-year-old Biden changed the paradigm.

But with the Democratic Party yet to settle on a candidate for November’s election, Biden’s political reputation is now bound to his vice president, whom he has already endorsed. “The fate of his legacy now rests with Kamala Harris,” University of Virginia historian Sidney Milkis told Hirsh of Biden, “just as Franklin Roosevelt’s legacy rested with Harry Truman’s success.”—Amelia Lester

New and Noteworthy?

• Venezuela’s Strongman: “Against all odds, the opposition is gaining momentum ahead of the July 28 presidential elections ,” Tony Frangie-Mawad writes. But it will likely continue to face significant obstacles ahead of the vote, Frangie-Mawad explains.
• Another Syrian Uprising: “The world’s interest in working to resolve Syria’s debilitating crisis has completely evaporated,” Charles Lister writes. And, given ongoing geopolitical hostilities, a regime-linked drug trade, and other factors, “in many ways, the situation in Syria is worse than it’s ever been.”

• Europe’s Leadership Vacuum: While the EU and its member states have increased defense spending, Bart M. J. Szewczyk argues that the alliance’s approach to security is at a plateau “without active leadership .” To further grasp what the future holds for Europe, especially without America’s embrace, gain full digital access to all insights in our latest print magazine, “Europe Alone ,” for as little as $20.

FP Live?

Decoding Trump’s Foreign-Policy Plans

July 30 | 11 a.m. ET?

If Republican nominee Donald Trump becomes the next president of the United States, how will he design his foreign policy? Where will his administration shift its attention? Elbridge Colby, a Pentagon official under former President Trump, will join FP Live to discuss. Register now .

The View From Singapore

On Demand

Few countries in the world are as adept at interpreting China’s foreign policy as Singapore. The small but wealthy city-state is a frequent host for sensitive conversations between Washington and Beijing. At this year’s Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, FP’s Ravi Agrawal sat down with Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen to discuss the U.S.-China relationship and American soft power in Southeast Asia in light of wars in Europe and the Middle East. Watch the conversation now, or read the edited transcript.?

Is Canada Free-Riding on Defense?

On Demand?

While most NATO members are upping their defense spending to a minimum of 2 percent of their respective GDPs, Canada is increasingly seen as lagging behind. Can Canada up its contributions? And how is it thinking about security to its north, especially as climate change melts new passages into the Arctic ice and opens new routes for Russian aggression? On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, FP’s Ravi Agrawal put these and other questions to Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair. Watch the conversation now, or read the edited?transcript.?

How Platon Photographs Power

On Demand July 24?

Whether you know it or not, you’ve seen the work of portrait photographer Platon. Gracing magazine covers and protest signs, his photos of world leaders and cultural icons capture the truth behind the cliche that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Platon will sit down with FP’s Ravi Agrawal to describe what drives his art and how he connects with his subjects, no matter how powerful they may be. This video will be accessible on-demand to all on July 24.?

Exercise Your Mind?

South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples were eligible to receive what benefit on Thursday?

(A) Legal recognition of civil unions

(B) Spousal health insurance coverage

(C) Tax breaks allowed to married couples

(D) Permission to adopt children?

You can find the answer to this question and learn more at the end of this email.?

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Answer: B. Spousal health insurance coverage. Protecting and expanding LGBTQ+ rights around the world—including at home—is essential to a strong U.S. foreign policy, Jessica Stern and Suzanne B. Goldberg argue .?