Uncertainty over Democrats’ stand on foreign policy issues after Biden’s exit

Joe Biden's withdrawal from the U.S. presidential race creates global uncertainty amid geopolitical challenges and leadership transitions.

Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the U.S. presidential race injects greater uncertainty into the world at a time when Western leaders are grappling with wars in Ukraine and Gaza, a more assertive China in Asia and the rise of the far-right in Europe.

During a five-decade career in politics, Mr. Biden developed extensive personal relationships with multiple foreign leaders that none of the potential replacements on the Democratic ticket can match. After his announcement, messages of support and gratitude for his years of service poured in from near and far. The scope of foreign policy challenges facing the next U.S. President makes clear how consequential what happens in Washington is for the rest of the planet. Here’s a look at some of them.

With Vice President Kamala Harris being eyed as a potential replacement for Mr. Biden, Israelis on Sunday scrambled to understand what her candidacy would mean for their country as it confronts increasing global isolation over its military campaign against Hamas.

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Israel’s left-wing Haaretz daily newspaper ran a story scrutinising Ms. Harris’s record of support for Israel, pointing to her reputation as Mr. Biden’s “bad cop” who has vocally admonished Israel for its war on Gaza. In recent months, she has gone further than Mr. Biden in calling for a ceasefire, denouncing Israel’s invasion of Rafah and expressing horror over the civilian death toll in Gaza.

“With Biden leaving, Israel has lost perhaps the last Zionist President,” said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli Consul General in New York. “A new Democratic candidate will upend the dynamic.”

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