President Joe Biden argued in a farewell foreign policy address that he made the country stronger and more secure by revitalizing America’s global relationships in the face of active conflicts that began during his tenure and remain unresolved.

When he came into office four years ago, Biden said, U.S. partnerships were under strain. The U.S. was falling behind China, he said, and had troops on the ground in Afghanistan as it struggled to extricate itself from its longest-ever war.

“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger,” he declared at the State Department. “Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker. We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The remarks were the first of several legacy-shaping speeches that Biden will deliver as he prepares to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Donald Trump, a populist whose platform includes making America’s allies pay more for their defense.

Trump has signaled plans to shift the U.S. away from relying on multilateral groupings like NATO that Biden embraced in favor of a national security agenda that, he says, puts America first.
Biden leaves office in a period of global turbulence, with the Israel-Hamas war ongoing; Syria under rebel leadership after its dictator, Bashar al-Assad, was suddenly ousted; and a civil war raging in Sudan.

The exiting president made the case that strong American leadership during his administration led to the isolation of Russia after its leader, President Vladimir Putin, launched an unprovoked assault on Ukraine that threatened to become a war between the world’s two greatest nuclear powers.

“When Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought he’d conquer Kyiv in a matter of days,” Biden said. “The truth is, since that war began, I’m the only one that’s stood in the center of Kyiv − not him.”
Biden’s administration organized a 50-nation coalition to counter Putin, he said, and most members of NATO are now spending 2% of their gross domestic product on defense.

“Our alliances are stronger than they’ve been in decades. NATO is more capable than it’s ever been,” Biden said.
Biden said his administration also deserves credit for pulling together alliances such as AUKUS, with Australia and the UK, elevating the Quad, which is made up of Australia, India, Japan alongside the United States, and helping to resolve differences between South Korea and Japan.

The U.S. also armed and stood with Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and formed a coalition of more than 20 countries to counter Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Iran’s air defenses are in “shambles,” their economy is “desperate straits, and their main proxy, Hezbollah, “is badly wounded,” he said. “There’s no question, our actions contributed significantly.”

A hostage deal and ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has proven elusive, but the administration says it is doing everything in its power ahead of Trump’s inauguration to get one done.

Some 100 hostages are still in captivity, including seven Americans, three of whom the administration believes are no longer alive.