Biden makes China, Russia and Iran “weaker” while the United States is “stronger” in front of Trump
National security adviser Jake Sullivan claimed in an interview on Sunday that Russia, China and Iran are “weaker” and the United States is “safer” after four years under President Joe Biden.
“Our alliance is stronger than it was four years ago,” Sullivan said on CNN’s State of the Union, referring to President-elect Trump’s first term. “They are stronger than they have been in decades. NATO is stronger, more purposeful and larger. Our alliances in the Asia-Pacific are at an all-time high. Our adversaries and competitors are weakened across the board. Russia is weaker, Iran is weaker.” Weaker, China is weaker, and we keep the United States out of war.
“I think the American people are safer and this country is in a better place than it was four years ago, and we’re handing it over to the next team while keeping the engine of American power humming,” Sullivan said. “Our economy, our technology, our defense industrial base, our supply chains. As a result, the United States is in a stronger and more secure position, while our competitors and adversaries are weaker and under pressure.”
Biden’s presidency is beset by a failed troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, while the Pentagon monitors the growing threat from Islamic extremism around the world.
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Most of Trump’s promises to voters as he runs for re-election in 2024 have focused on seeking justice for the families of the 13 American service members killed at Abbey Gate and promising peace through strength on the world stage.
Sullivan on Sunday defended Biden’s handling of the troop withdrawal.
Jake Sullivan during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, March 18, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“If we were still in Afghanistan today, Americans would be fighting and dying, Russia would have greater influence over us, and we would be unable to meet the major strategic challenges we face,” Sullivan said.
“While the investigation continues, we have not found any connection between the attackers in Afghanistan and New Orleans,” he added, referring to the New Year’s Day truck ramming attack on Bourbon Street. “Now the FBI will continue to look for foreign contacts, and maybe we’ll find one, but what we’re seeing is evidence of what President Biden has said, which is that the terrorist threat has become more diffuse and moved to other places, including the homeland. Extremists are in America — not just under President Biden but during President Trump’s first term, which is why we must shift our focus from the hot war in Afghanistan to the much larger one around the world part of the reason for counterterrorism efforts.
In the final weeks of his presidency, Biden had been funneling billions of dollars in U.S. aid to Ukraine before Trump took office.
Israeli demonstrators join weekly anti-government protests in Tel Aviv, Israel, on January 11, 2025, calling for a ceasefire and a hostage exchange agreement. (ORI AVIRAM/Middle East Photo Agency/AFP Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the Republican president-elect has claimed that war in Ukraine will never break out under his watch and vowed to broker a deal to stop fighting between Moscow and Kiev.
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office denies reports that Hamas forwarded list of hostages released following deal
Last week, Trump warned Hamas terrorists at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, that “hell will break out” in the Middle East if the remaining hostages are not released before he takes office. .
Regarding the status of the negotiations, Sullivan said: “We’re very, very close, but very close still means we’re far away because we’re not there yet before we actually cross the finish line.”
President-elect Donald Trump speaks to members of the media during a news conference at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 7, 2025. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Sullivan highlighted that President Biden’s senior Middle East adviser Brett McGuirk spent a week in Doha “working with mediators to hammer out the final details of the text to be presented to both sides.”
“We remain determined to use every day we are in office to get this done,” Sullivan said.
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Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters last week that he saw progress in hostage negotiations but that a deal must be reached before Inauguration Day. “If those hostages don’t come back – and I don’t want to jeopardize your negotiations – if they don’t come back by the time I take office, hell is going to break out in the Middle East,” Trump said in Florida. “That doesn’t do anything to Hamas. Benefits. Frankly, all hell breaks out.”
