By: Ethan Mathieu

On Thursday, June 9th, President Biden spoke in England to American troops on his first major foriegn venture. The one message Biden echoed throughout his remarks was that “America is Back”.

 

This is in clear response to Former President Donald Trump’s agenda abroad, which included returning America to an age of isolationism. One of Trump’s biggest campaign messages was that America should come first, after all. This appealed to the part of the American ethos where its citizens hold themselves above other nations. Flanked by only two other countries, America can afford to live on a semi-island, separate from the relative chaos of Europe and Asia. It has no immediate incentive to form a bloc like the European Union, as an example. Throughout his presidency Donald Trump pulled America from foriegn investment after foreign investment, from the Paris climate accords to the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.

 

Biden has had the opposite outlook, believing that America’s involvement with other nations is what truly makes the country great.

 

This script isn’t new, however. America has a tendency to oscillate between isolation and involvement, closed and open doors. America’s first true foray into the global ecosystem came with World War I, where it joined Britain and France among other nations to fight against the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (which had technically left the conflict at this point -- it is of no matter). Following the conflict, America rejected joining the League of Nations, a post-war organization designed to mediate conflict. World War II America’s story started off much of the same way. The U.S. rejected joining the conflict until an attack on its own soil was made. However, following the end of the Second World War, America spearheaded global rebuilding with the Marshall Plan and United Nations. It embraced its role as the leader of the free world. This remained America’s position by and large until the era of Trump. However, global threats like Climate Change have brought America back into the fray with Biden. What this is all meant to say is the alternating foriegn policy is nothing new to the United States -- in fact, it is a core part of its identity.

 

However, after Biden is eventually out of office, what will happen to the United States? History tells us that America is due for another exit from the worldwide spotlight, but will planet-wide threats buck to the trend. Only time will tell. For now, America well and truly is “back”. at least from a global standpoint.