The current trip to Europe is a good an example of leadership in action from a US president as we have seen in many years. Not just confidence, competence, and a clear vision at a critical moment but leading by example. We're not just talking the talk, we're walking the walk.
In critical area after critical area, we've seen concrete steps to ratchet up support for Ukraine, for Europe and to increase pressure on Europe, meaningful measures on military & humanitarian aid, sanctions, energy security for our allies.
As importantly, thanks to effective diplomacy and a real commitment to being a good partner, @POTUS, @SecBlinken, @SecDef, @JakeSullivan46 & their teams have helped usher in an era in which the Atlantic Alliance is more unified than it has been for years.
What is more in an evolving crisis, the steps taken by the US and our allies have been robust--the strongest response ever to Putin's abhorrent behavior--and they have evolved swiftly as circumstances have warranted.
The US has also gained credibility throughout because our view of the risks, the intelligence we have shared, the measures we have called for, have all proven to be correct. We have led the way in staying a step ahead of Putin and that has won respect in Europe.
Big challenges await. More can and use be done. But so far, it is no wonder that America's standing with our allies is at a higher point that it has been in years--showing double digit gains in 20 of 27 NATO states.
We have not just recovered from the disastrous Trump years but in a number of cases after just one year, the Biden team has won approval from our allies that surpasses that of the Obama years as well. news.gallup.com/poll/391160/im…
What we're seeing is that the American people made the right choice in 2020 and that at a moment of great crisis, we have precisely the kind of experienced international leadership from the USG that we need.
Here's my latest on the developments in Europe this week (that underscore just how complex the challenges we face are and that the weeks and months ahead will be even more demanding): thedailybeast.com/nato-is-prepar…
p.s. As I've often noted, foreign policy is hard and no one or no team gets it exactly right. I think the US could well have done more for Ukraine sooner in terms of military aid, probably should've found a way to get them the aircraft that were available...
...probably should not have publicly ruled out certain responses to Putin, etc. My own preference would be to lean in a little more. But having said that, the response to a very complex situation has been so good at so many levels, we should appreciate that and be grateful.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
