In a second term for President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump, there is no question they will be faced with difficult choices as the global landscape evolves. And the two men have very different world views and approaches to global conflicts.

Washington

Donald Trump is preparing to take office after defeating Kamala Harris in the U.S. Presidential election.

U.S. Presidential Elect

The presidential election presents a crucial junction for how the United States addresses significant global conflicts. Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have starkly different worldviews and approaches to handling such issues.

President Biden has emphasized democratic values in U.S. global leadership. He has focused on strengthening U.S. alliances, particularly in Europe and the Indo-Pacific regions. Biden’s foreign policy has been heavily influenced by ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Contrastingly, Trump argues that these conflicts only arose because he was not in office, claiming events such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the October 7th attacks in Israel would not have occurred under his presidency.

President Biden initially supported Israel strongly but has since faced criticism over his stance on Gaza, where American bombs have been used by Israel on civilians despite his red line against a ground invasion of Rafah. Nonetheless, Biden remains a proponent of a two-state solution. Trump, on the other hand, has dismissed pro-Palestinian protests, urged Israel to finish the war, and expressed skepticism over a two-state solution.

In Ukraine, Biden has supported NATO’s expansion and rallied international aid against Russia’s invasion, despite opposition from Republicans at home. In contrast, Trump had previously questioned the U.S. commitment to NATO and recently took a less assertive stance on continued aid to Ukraine. His past admiration for leaders such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un raised concerns about his approach to these countries.

Both Biden and Trump have shown confrontational stances towards China, with both imposing tougher tariffs. Spencer Backage, a senior fellow at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, suggested that a second Trump term would likely continue his previous administration’s hard-edged trade and military strategies. He indicated that Trump would likely maintain his support for the Netanyahu government at the cost of Palestinian interests. Conversely, Biden might adopt a more balanced approach, maintaining sensitivity towards the Palestinian cause while addressing broader strategic concerns.

Both candidates will face complex and evolving global threats, necessitating significant choices on multiple fronts. Understanding the interconnected dynamics of China, Russia, and the Middle East will be critical to formulating effective policies.



Comparing Biden and Trump on the global stage

The presidential election stands to shape how the United States responds to significant global conflicts. If the United States stepped off the world stage like Trump wants us to do, who would lead the world? President Biden has emphasized democratic values in the U.S.'s global leadership. He sought to strengthen U.S. alliances, particularly in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. But the continuing wars in Ukraine and Gaza have dominated his foreign policy agenda. Russia would have never attacked Ukraine if I were president. Never. Not even a possibility. And Israel wouldn't have happened. The October 7th would have never happened. While Trump blames Biden's leadership and claims that conflicts only happened because he wasn't president in office, Trump rattled the international organizations and agreements that have been a part of the world order for generations, from NATO to the U.N. On the Middle East, President Biden's initial full-throated support for Israel has given way to criticism over Gaza. His red line against a ground invasion of Rafah didn't prevent Israelis from using American bombs to kill civilians there. He still backs an eventual two-state solution. Trump has criticized pro-Palestinian protests, urged Israel to finish the war, and told Time magazine he thinks a two-state solution would be tough. Welcome back. On Ukraine, President Biden has backed NATO's expansion and rallied international aid in the face of Russia's invasion, even amid Republican opposition back home. Trump threw into question continued U.S. support for NATO, but recently held back on a forceful opposition to continued Ukraine aid. And he has raised concerns as he expressed admiration for Russia's Vladimir Putin in North Korea's Kim Jong-un. I got along with Putin. It's nice to get along with somebody that has a nuclear capability. You have a president who literally has invited Putin to do what it wants, do what the hell it wants if it can come into Ukraine. He thinks Putin is a strong, basically he's a decent guy. Meanwhile, on China, both candidates have had to manage competition and confrontation. Both imposed tougher tariffs. What would happen in a second term? Spencer Backage is a senior fellow at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. With respect to China, I suspect that we would see a return to the hard-edged, highly competitive trade and military strategy that the Trump administration left off with in 2020. With respect to the Middle East, I think that what we would probably see is a continued embrace of the Netanyahu government at the explicit detriment to the Palestinians. The difference, I think, between the Biden administration future approach and the Trump administration future approach would be some sort of sensitivity to the Palestinian cause. Backage indicated Trump's strategy could be similar to his first term. While Biden could pursue a more cohesive strategy to confront multiple fronts. That's a very, very difficult task. Understanding precisely how China, Russia and the Middle East interact with one another is difficult enough. And the problem there is that you don't want to create a monolithic conception of a tightly knit axis against the United States, when in fact that isn't necessarily the case on all issues. In a second term, either president will have tough choices to make as the global threat evolves.

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