Biden says Trump's 'America First' policy has 'made America alone'

published 16 October 2020

When it comes to President Trump's foreign policy, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is willing to give him "a little" credit on exactly one thing.

During Thursday night's ABC News town hall in Philadelphia, a Republican voter told Biden that "Arabs and Israelis are talking peace, which I believe is a modern day miracle ... does President Trump's foreign policy deserve some credit?" Biden quickly responded, "A little, but not a whole lot."

Because of Trump, he said, the U.S. is still in a position where "we're more isolated in the world than we've ever been. ... America First has made America alone." Iran is "closer to having enough nuclear material to build a bomb," he continued, while "North Korea has more bombs and missiles available to it" and China is "making moves." All of this means the U.S. is "less secure than we've been," Biden said.

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"I do compliment the president on the deal with Israel recently," Biden added, but this didn't do anything to help Trump's standing in the world. Surveys show that when it comes to being trustworthy, Trump comes in behind Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden said, and Trump routinely applauds totalitarian regimes and "embraces all the thugs in the world." The president, Biden finished, has "no plan. No coherent plan for foreign policy."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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