President Biden used his final speech to the United Nations on Tuesday to celebrate his defense of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and his work to restore the United States’ global alliances, but he also warned that the advances of his administration could easily fall apart if America returned to isolationism.
In an address of a little more than 20 minutes to the U.N. General Assembly, Mr. Biden combined personal touches with policy imperatives and an impassioned defense of democracy. He traced the arc of his own political career, from election to the Senate in 1972 at age 29, to his “difficult” decision two months ago to drop his bid for re-election — a decision he framed as a lesson for other heads of state.
“My fellow leaders,” Mr. Biden said, “let us never forget: Some things are more important than staying in power.”
Not surprisingly, Mr. Biden focused heavily on America’s and the West’s response to the Ukraine invasion, declaring that the United States and its allies, chiefly NATO, had “ensured the survival of Ukraine as a free nation.”
But he stopped short of assessing how he did in what he has described as the central challenge of his time: ensuring that democracy wins out over autocracy. And he acknowledged that Ukraine’s power to hold off Russia could be fleeting — a point that set the stage for Mr. Biden’s meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine at the White House on Thursday.
“We cannot grow weary, we cannot look away,” the president declared, in what may be his last opportunity to rally global support behind a conflict that has played a central role in his presidency.
Mr. Biden came to office promising to restore American leadership in the world. “America is back,” he liked to say. He used Tuesday’s U.N. speech to spotlight his administration’s efforts at global engagement, from investments in clean energy and clean water in developing nations to a new commitment, announced during his speech, to spend $500 million and donate one million vaccines to confront the growing mpox epidemic in Africa.
But Mr. Biden must also confront the limits of his promise. All around him, there are problems yet to solve. In Gaza, a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas remains elusive after 11 months of fighting. Israel’s ferocious shelling of the militant group Hezbollah, which has brought mounting civilian casualties, was underway in Lebanon even as Mr. Biden spoke, threatening a multifront war in the Middle East. Gaza and Ukraine face worsening humanitarian crises.
“America’s back, all right — he can make that case — but with severe limitations on its capacity to lead,” said Aaron David Miller, a longtime Middle East peace negotiator who has advised presidents of both parties. “Biden’s administration is a cautionary tale, I think, of just how complicated and surprising the international environment is, and the limitations of American power.”
When he hosts Mr. Zelensky at the White House on Thursday, Mr. Biden will come under new pressure to let Ukraine use American long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory — a step he has resisted, fearing it would put the United States into direct conflict with one of its two major nuclear-armed adversaries.
Mr. Zelensky has said that he is coming to the United States to present his “Plan for Victory,” and that Mr. Biden will be the first to see it. He will also meet with the two presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump. “This war can’t be calmed by talks,” he said in a talk before the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. “Action is needed.”
While Mr. Zelensky will speak to the entire General Assembly on Wednesday, Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, was absent. Russia is being represented by its longtime foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov. Mr. Biden used his speech to take a shot at the Russian president, saying Mr. Putin’s war had already “failed at his core aim.”
China’s president, Xi Jinping, also skipped the annual event, meaning that the two major powers confronting the United States during Mr. Biden’s presidency will be barely heard. Mr. Biden made no mention of his efforts to keep China from obtaining advanced technology, or selling its most advanced high-tech products here in the United States. But he did give a nod to China’s cooperation with the United States to stop the flow of the deadly narcotic fentanyl. Later in the day, Mr. Biden addressed a global coalition to end synthetic drug threats.
“I appreciate the collaboration,” the president said, referring to China, in his U.N. speech. “It matters for the people of my country, many others around the world.”
Mr. Biden acknowledged that his time was short — he has only a few months left to tackle a series of grave global crises, and there is a significant risk that his vision of global alliances will be abandoned if Mr. Trump reassumes office in January. Reflecting on his first Senate election, in 1972, in the thick of the Cold War and with America still fighting in Vietnam, he said the nation was then at “an inflection point,” as it is today.
“I truly believe we’re in another inflection point in world history,” Mr. Biden said, repeating a line he has used often during his presidency. “The choices we make today will determine our future for decades to come.”
On the Middle East, Mr. Biden made a point of highlighting the civilian casualties.
“They didn’t ask for this war,” Mr. Biden said of the tens of thousands killed in Gaza, a mix of Hamas militants and those caught in the crossfire. He reiterated the need for Hamas and Israel to sign on to his cease-fire and hostage plan. But today, that agreement seems further away than ever, with the opening of a major new front in Lebanon.
With the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack against Israel coming up in a few weeks, the president reiterated his long-held position that Israel has a right to defend itself.
“The world must not flinch from the horrors of Oct. 7,” Mr. Biden said, adding, “Any country would have the right and responsibility to ensure that such an attack could never happen again.”
Mr. Biden also devoted a significant portion of his speech to the promise and risks of artificial intelligence — a topic he referred to only fleetingly during his address to the General Assembly last year.
The technology brings promise, he said, “but A.I. also brings profound risks, from deep fakes to disinformation to novel pathogens to bio weapons.” This year, the General Assembly passed a resolution to start developing “global rules of the road” for A.I. — an initiative Mr. Biden said he welcomed.
Mr. Biden has spent more than 50 years on the world stage — as a senator, including a stint as the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, as vice president and as president. Reflecting on time, he spoke of the lessons he has learned. One of them, he said, is that “things can get better.”
He ticked off a string of examples: recovery from the Vietnam War; the fall of the Berlin Wall; the end of apartheid in South Africa; the world’s emergence from the coronavirus pandemic. He spoke of ongoing battles for “freedom and justice and dignity” in places like Venezuela and also Uganda, where gay, lesbian and transgender people have fought for their rights.
“Every age faces its challenges,” Mr. Biden said. “I saw it as a young man. I see it today. But we are stronger than we think. We’re stronger together than alone.”
When the speech was over, the president paused to take in the applause. Then he put his hand on his heart, gave a brief wave and walked off the stage — his fourth and final address to the United Nations General Assembly behind him.