On Monday, President Biden delivered his final foreign policy speech to begin his last week in office. Among the topics he addressed were U.S. aid to Ukraine, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine. 

Key Quotes From Biden:

• “Ending the war was the right thing to do, and I believe history will reflect that. Critics said if we ended the war, it would damage our alliances and create threats to our homeland from foreign-directed terrorism out of a safe haven in Afghanistan — neither has occurred.”
• “Compared to four years ago, America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger. Our adversaries and competitors are weaker. We have not gone to war to make these things happen. During my presidency I’ve increased America’s power in every dimension.” 
• “We’ve increased our diplomatic power, creating more allies than the United States has ever had in the history of our nation. We’ve increased our military power, making the most significant investments in the defense industrial base in decades. We’ve increased the technology power, taking the lead in artificial intelligence and other technologies of the future. And we’ve increased the economic power building the most dynamic economy in the world from the bottom up and the middle out.” 

How the Media Covered It: Outlets from across the political spectrum covered Biden’s speech with a range of critical and neutral perspectives. In regards to Biden’s remarks about ending the war in Afghanistan, AP (Left bias) described the “chaotic withdrawal” as “a major setback just eight months into Biden’s presidency that he struggled to recover from,” while also noting that Biden’s plans to repair alliances were “strained by four years of Trump’s ‘America First’ worldview.” An analysis from National Review News (Lean Right) was more critical of Biden’s positive outlook on his foreign policy, claiming that his term was “defined by a level of geopolitical instability unseen since the end of the Cold War.”