Biden says he equals Kissinger in knowledge and experience

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
21 Jun 2023 00:47

US President Joe Biden, while on a fundraising tour in California, makes a joke about his age saying he has worked in government his whole life, "for the last 207 years.”

President Joe Biden speaks at the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and Preserve in Palo Alto, California, Monday, June 19, 2023. (AP)

During a fundraising trip to California, US President Joe Biden commended his own foreign policy experience, on Monday while at the home of venture capitalist Steve Westly and his wife Anita, saying it was on par with that of Henry Kissinger.

Biden said “I’m going to say something outrageous. I think I know as much about American foreign policy as anybody living, including Dr. Kissinger.”

The 80-year-old US President then went on to make a joke about his age, “That’s what I’ve done my whole life, for the last 207 years.”

On the topic of US-China relations, Biden had told reporters that after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to Beijing, there has been some progress in restoring the relations between the two countries.

In regards to Russia and Ukraine, Biden boasted about his foreign policy record underlining that he had warned Kiev that Moscow would invade. The US President also allegedly said that Russian President Vladimir Putin "was virtually certain when he invaded that he was going to split NATO,” before adding that “NATO is more united than it’s ever been.”

War between US and China over Taiwan is probable: Kissinger

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday that the US is facing the risk of becoming increasingly isolated if Washington continues to prioritize its sole interests over those of the global community.

"In the present period, the debate had shifted to extremes in which there is an extreme theory of America first, which is applied on both sides, but in such a way that it focuses too much on American interests and not on global interests," Kissinger told Bloomberg. "That is a challenge. But anyone who wants to conduct a serious American foreign policy must balance the two. Or America will become isolated."

According to Kissinger, a military war between the US and China over Taiwan is likely, given the current state of the two countries' ties.

"On the current trajectory of relations, I think some military conflict is probable," Kissinger said in an interview. "The current trajectory of relations must be altered."

It is now up to both parties, in Kissinger's words, to step back from "the top of a precipice."

During Trump's tenure as President of the US, the former President branded his approach to US foreign policy as "America First."

His successor, Biden, has likewise pursued a similar path with regard to a number of national security issues, especially with regard to Washington's approach to China and Russia.

At 100 years of age, Kissinger is the last surviving member of the Nixon administration.