WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday kicked off the final days of his time in the White House — as well as his more than five-decade-long career in politics — focused on a topic near and dear to the former chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee's heart: America’s leadership on the world stage. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden on Monday kicked off the final days of his time in the White House with a speech on America’s leadership on the world stage
  • In remarks at the State Department one week before he will hand over power to President-elect Donald Trump, Biden made the case that the U.S. has the “wind at our back” while our adversaries are “facing headwinds"
  • Biden took office in the throes of the worst global pandemic in a century before presiding over the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and watching two wars break out during his time in office when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Hamas attacked Israel in 2023
  • On Monday, Biden said the U.S. had come out of the “tests” of the last four years stronger than when it entered

In a speech delivered at the State Department one week before he will hand over power to President-elect Donald Trump, Biden made the case that the U.S., thanks to his guidance over the last four years, has the “wind at our back” while our adversaries are “facing headwinds.” 

“Now, America is more capable, and I would argue, better prepared, than we've been in a long, long time,” Biden said, arguing he is leaving Trump a “very strong hand to play.”

Biden, who took office in the throes of the worst global pandemic in a century before presiding over the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and watching two wars break out during his time in office when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Hamas attacked Israel in 2023, said the U.S. had come out of the “tests” of the last four years stronger than when it entered. 

“This is a fierce competition underway: the future, the global economy, technology, human values, and so much else," Biden said. "Right now, in my view, thanks to our administration, the United States is winning the worldwide competition." 

The president specifically pointed to his leadership in rallying European allies around Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s attack, creating the “first-ever” trilateral partnership with Japan and South Korea and embracing the so-called Quad to counter China, working to defend the red sea in the Middle East amid attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis in the red sea and more as examples of his leadership. He also mentioned his efforts to bring home Americans wrongfully detained across the world.  

On Afghanistan, Biden argued that “history will reflect” that it was the “right thing to do.” 

In Europe, meanwhile, Biden marveled that at the start of the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin thought his forces would easily defeat Ukraine in a matter of days. 

Instead, Biden said his administration and its allies have “laid the foundation” for the Trump administration to help Ukraine eventually arrive at a moment where it can negotiate a just end to the nearly three-year old conflict.

Trump pledged on the campaign trail to work out a deal between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the war before he even took office, a promise that does not appear likely to come to fruition. Biden has been highly critical of the language Trump has used when it comes to the NATO alliance. 

In the Middle East, Biden has stood by Israel as it has worked to root out Hamas from Gaza, a position that has received pushback from some in his own party and sparked protesters to show up at his events for months. 

Biden and Trump’s teams have been coordinating on efforts to shore up a hostage release deal since the November election, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said. 

Trump warned that “all hell” will be unleashed on Hamas if the hostages aren’t freed by Inauguration Day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.