Biden pens op-ed detailing how he would undo Trump’s foreign policy

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday released an op-ed detailing his foreign policy platform, which would aim to undo President Trump’s doctrine. 

“The next U.S. president will have to address the world as it is in January 2021, and picking up the pieces will be an enormous task,” Biden writes in the Foreign Affairs op-ed, titled “Why America Must Lead Again.” 

The multipronged approach calls for “renewing democracy” domestically by reversing Trump’s immigration policies, specifically his stances on family separations, in addition to setting the annual refugee admission rate at 125,000 and increasing it over time. Biden also pledged to reinstate the ban on torture in the U.S. 

The former vice president also pledged to have a foreign policy platform that empowers middle-class Americans in the global economy. 

He said his administration would empower the group through a number of measures, including raising the minimum wage, ensuring every American has access to health care and investing in innovative technologies like 5G and clean energy. 

Biden went on to write that he would not enter into trade agreements without ensuring that Americans are equipped to compete in the global economy. 

“I will not negotiate new deals without having labor and environmental leaders at the table in a meaningful way and without including strong enforcement provisions to hold our partners to the deals they sign,” he said. 

He also emphasized the need to bring U.S. troops home from the “forever wars” in Afghanistan and the Middle East, instead focusing the nation’s resources on counterterrorism. 

“Staying entrenched in unwinnable conflicts drains our capacity to lead on other issues that require our attention, and it prevents us from rebuilding the other instruments of American power,” Biden wrote. 

The former vice president has long been critical of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, slamming his decision to pull out of multinational Obama-era pacts like the Paris climate accords and the Iranian nuclear deal. 

The op-ed comes as foreign policy has increasingly played a prominent role on the campaign trail in the wake of the U.S.-sanctioned killing of prominent Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. 

Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has criticized Biden multiple times for his vote in favor of the Iraq War. 

However, foreign policy has long been considered a strong spot for Biden, who has years of experience on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and in the Obama administration.