The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Joe Biden’s Disastrous Foreign Policy and False Claims

Episode Date: January 18, 2025

In this edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” Hanson critiques President Joe Biden’s claims about his own foreign policy in the waning days of his presidency. “So why would you claim that you had done this outstanding achievement? And the war is not over. It’s the worst carnage in Europe since the Battle of Stalingrad—1.7 million dead, wounded or missing. It’s nothing to brag about. It’s a complete catastrophe.” “He said that he was tough on China. He said China wasn’t our rival. He allowed a Chinese spy balloon to traverse the United States. For a week, he did nothing.” “Trump didn’t have a war in Afghanistan because you lost it. And you humiliated us. And you destroyed deterrence…this was the single greatest disaster in foreign policy in a century, and yet, he had the audacity to go before the State Department and claim it was a great success.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden is on his way out of office. And he made a series of claims that were, to be frank, complete fabrications. He said that the world was calmer now than it was when he inherited. He inherited a calm world affairs where there was no war in the Middle East. There was no war in Ukraine. Why would you claim that you had done this outstanding achievement? And the war is not over. It's the worst carnage in Europe since the Battle of Stalingrad.

1.7 million dead, wounded, or missing. Hello, I'm Victor Davis-Hanson for the Daily Signal. Joe Biden is on his way out of office, and as a farewell to all of us, he reviewed the state of affairs abroad to his own State Department. And he made a series of claims that were, to be frank, complete fabrications. He said that the world was calmer now than it was when he inherited. He inherited a common world affairs, calm, World Affairs, where there was no war in the Middle East, there was no war in Ukraine. He took credit, if you can believe it, for saving Ukraine. But when he entered office, remember what he said.

He, first of all, said he was going to put on hold the weaponry and munitions necessary for Ukraine's deterrence that Donald Trump had approved. And he did. He was asked, what would you do if Vladimir Putin should go into Ukraine. He said it depends on whether it's a major, a major invasion. That had a green light effect on Vladimir Putin. So did the August 2021 complete scram skedaddle from Afghanistan, which we left $50 billion or so of munitions, equipment. We lost 13 great soldiers. We were completely humiliated. That left a signal to Vladimir Putin, as did this reality that Vladimir Putin prior to the Biden presidency had gone in to other countries that has left his borders two out of the prior three administrations.

During the lame duck George W. Bush administration when he went into Georgia and Nossetia, and of course during the vice presidency of Biden himself and Barack Obama during the Obama presidency, but not Donald Trump. So you're Vladimir Putin. You hear that he's put on hold offensive weaponry to Ukraine. He suggested that he won't react if it's a minor invasion. You've seen what happened in Afghanistan, and you know that you were able to get away with it in a prior tenure

in which Joe Biden participated as vice president. So why would you claim that you had done this outstanding achievement? And the war is not over. It's the worst carnage in Europe since the Battle of Stalingrad. 1.7 million dead, wounded, or missing. It's nothing to brag about it. It's a complete catastrophe, and it was a result of deterrence being crushed. He also bragged about the Middle East.

He said Iran was weak. Yeah, it's weak because Israel overrode your orders to them not to retaliate in kind when Iran's sent 500, 500 projectiles, drones, missiles, cruise missiles, in two different occasions. And the Israelis were told not to reply in kind. The only reason that Iran is tried it or weak is because Israel bucked Joe Biden. And they did retaliate, not the way they wanted to, but enough to destroy the air defenses and humiliate Iran. They were the ones that went into Hezbollah's territory in Lebanon, despite not because of Joe Biden and decapitated the hierarchy of Hezbollah, they were the ones who destroyed 70% of Hamas against, again, the wishes of Joe Biden. He said that he was tough on China.

He said China was an arrival. He allowed a Chinese spy balloon to traverse the United States. For a week, he did nothing, nothing. China has been buying systematically strategic acreage around our installations with no effect. China has some 20,000 single males across the border. For what purpose we don't know, except it must be nefarious. China surly threatens Taiwan. And why?

Well, that's up to conjecture, but given Hunter Biden's trips to China on Air Force 2 during the vice presidency of Joe Biden. and the monies that came from Chinese-affiliated corporations, you can see that the Chinese at least believe that he is compromised, he being Joe Biden, by extension, the whole Biden family. So there's nothing to brag about. And when you look at the military, he said that I'm the first president that will leave no Afghanistan for my incoming successor. That's like saying, I lost D-Day, so we pulled out of World War II,

and then Harry Truman, if you were going to imagine a conversation with a live FDR, he had no war in World War II because I lost it. Yes, Donald Trump didn't have a war in Afghanistan because you lost it and you humiliated us and you destroyed deterrence. So you add it all up. I'm sorry, I'm animated. I could go on, but this was the single greatest disaster in foreign policy in a century. And yet he had the audacity to go before the State Department and, and claim it was a great success. And I don't know whether we should laugh or cry.

This is Victor Davis-Hanson for The Daily Signal. Thank you so much for tuning in today. Please subscribe to the Daily Signal for our next episode.