Daily Times

US President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race gives him nearly six months left in office with an array of foreign policy challenges on the table. How will Biden continue to shape Washington’s stance towards Ukraine, China and the Israel-Hamas war? FRANCE 24 speaks with Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, director of the US and the Americas Programme at UK thinktank Chatham House.

Biden’s choice to leave the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination throws the US presidential race into waters that have not been navigated since 1968, when Democratic president Lyndon Johnson said he would not seek re-election. It also comes amid concerted US efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu set for a high-stakes meeting with the US president on Tuesday.

During his term, Biden has approved billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine as well as Israel and Taiwan, hiked tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, and sought to push Israel and Hamas towards agreeing a ceasefire in the Gaza war. While Biden’s decision not to seek re-election makes him something of a “lame duck” domestically, it is unclear how the next six months will play out on the world stage.

FRANCE 24 spoke with Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri, the director of the US and the Americas Programme at Chatham House and a professor of international relations at the University of London.