NEW YORK – On Tuesday, President Joe Biden will make his final address to the U.N. General Assembly, aiming to strengthen his legacy and highlight his commitment to active U.S. engagement worldwide as he prepares to leave office.

With ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and former President Donald Trump closely trailing Biden’s chosen successor, Vice President Kamala Harris, this speech presents Biden with one last opportunity to present his vision for the world before the upcoming November elections.

At 81 years old, Biden attends the meeting of global leaders as a “lame duck” president, having withdrawn from the race shortly after a NATO summit where he struggled to prove the viability of his candidacy.

This moment serves as a chance for Biden to argue that the focus of the Biden-Harris administration on revitalizing U.S. alliances has contributed to national security and deserves support for a continued Democratic leadership.

Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stated in an interview, “His speech could lay out what the country needs to do to ensure our national security and the principles a president must uphold.”

“Essentially, he will be setting the groundwork for Kamala Harris’s presidency,” Panetta remarked to YSL News.

Biden’s message stands in stark contrast to Trump’s claims, which suggest that if he were still in power, the turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine would not have occurred. Trump has promised to avoid new foreign conflicts if he wins another term.

Biden’s supporters have strongly countered Trump’s accusations. Victoria Nuland, a former undersecretary of state, pointed out that Trump “did nothing” to limit Putin’s actions during his presidency.

“The groundwork for current conflicts was laid during the Trump administration, and Trump has direct accountability for encouraging both Putin and Hamas,” she commented.

Harris shares Biden’s perspectives. She has argued that if the U.S. isolates itself from allies, threats to both national security and economic prosperity would only increase.

However, Harris will not attend the U.N. gathering and is leaving this occasion entirely to Biden.

John Bolton, who served as U.N. ambassador under George W. Bush, stated, “I expect the speech will focus on his legacy and highlight his achievements. Whether that aids Harris, I’m unsure.”

Bolton, who is steering clear of both major party candidates this year, raised doubts about whether the American public will be engaged.

Middle East Tensions Rise Ahead of UN Meeting

As Biden prepared to deliver his address to the U.N. General Assembly, an agreement to conclude the Israel-Hamas war and facilitate the release of remaining hostages, including seven Americans, remained elusive.

Instead, the Biden administration was working to manage a quickly worsening situation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Israeli health ministry reported that over 270 individuals died from airstrikes across Lebanon on Monday. Israel declared the attacks were necessary to thwart a potential assault by Hezbollah, which had been firing across the border since Hamas’s initial surprise attack on October 7. The Israeli government also stated that a recent airstrike resulted in the death of Hezbollah leaders.

The White House asserted that it was not informed of Israel’s plans for the strikes in Beirut. It also denied any U.S. involvement in the destruction of electronic devices in Lebanon last week that resulted in numerous casualties.

As of Monday, Biden had not spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the strikes and did not plan to meet the often challenging ally during his visit to the U.S.

Biden has occasionally criticized Netanyahu, who is due to speak at the U.N. on Friday. Last week, Biden’s national security communications adviser, John Kirby, described Hamas as “the main obstacle” to reaching a peace agreement to end the ongoing conflict.

“Our focus is not on past events but on looking ahead to find a viable path forward, which has proven to be challenging,” Kirby noted. “However, our commitment to tackling the issues remains strong.”

Over the weekend, Biden was at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, engaging with a partnership that he has been influential in developing. He conducted private meetings with leaders from Australia, India, and Japan, collectively referred to as the Quad.

According to national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the strengthening of the Indo-Pacific alliance is “one of the accomplishments he will take pride in after leaving office.”

This partnership faces opposition from China, which sees it as a challenge to its ambitions to lead in the Pacific area.

While in New York, the president intends to address a climate summit on Tuesday and meet one-on-one with the president of Vietnam on Wednesday. Afterward, he will return to Washington to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Thursday. On Monday, Biden met with the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Harris had a separate meeting with bin Zayed, commonly known as MBZ, and will also have a private meeting with Zelenskyy. She has committed to continue supplying arms to Ukraine if she is elected. Her campaign has highlighted Trump’s reluctance to clarify whether he supports the U.S. ally in the conflict.

Biden’s efforts to rally NATO nations in support of Ukraine are considered by Panetta, a former CIA director and current co-host of the One Decision podcast, to be one of the most significant U.S. foreign policy actions of this century.

“I believe this theme needs repeated emphasis because if the United States doesn’t lead, no one else will step up,” he stated.