
When US President Joe Biden entered the White House in 2021, he vigorously embraced a narrative of business as usual. The central premise of his administration’s foreign policy seemed to be that the United States was back after a fluke (the first Donald Trump presidency). But around the globe, skepticism of US leadership remained.
Then Trump was reelected and returned to the White House in 2024 with an even more pugnacious approach to alliances, unilateralism, and new foreign wars. The response from some Democrats and foreign policy elites since has been an echo of their earlier refrain: A new president will end the era of chaotic foreign policy and restore steady US leadership in the world. But is it too late?



