BIDEN RALLIES LEADERS AROUND GLOBE TO BOLSTER DEMOCRACY
President launches $424M initiative to fight corruption
President Joe Biden expressed alarm at a “backward slide” of democracy around the globe on Thursday, calling on fellow world leaders to work with him to bolster democratic institutions as his administration grows increasingly concerned about China’s and Russia’s push for global influence.
Biden’s comments to more than 100 leaders at the White House’s first virtual Summit for Democracy came as they pointed to a host of challenges confronting democracies, including corruption, inequality, and limitations on press freedom. The leaders also expressed increasing worry about the perils of disinformation and strengthening autocracies.
“Will we allow the backward slide of rights and democracy to continue unchecked?” Biden asked. “Or will we together have a vision and courage to once more lead the march of human progress and human freedom forward?”
He didn’t mention either China or Russia by name. But he has repeatedly made a case that the U.S. and likeminded allies need to show the world that democracies are a far better vehicle for societies than autocracies. It is a central tenet of Biden’s foreign policy outlook — one that he vowed would be more outward looking than his predecessor’s “America First” approach.
Biden underscored that even long-established democracies, like the United States, haven’t been immune to the strains, and he called the moment an “inflection point in history.”
Local elected officials are resigning at an alarming rate amid confrontations with angry voices at school board meetings, elections offices and town halls. States are passing laws to limit access to the ballot, making it more difficult for Americans to vote. And the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol has left many in former President Donald Trump’s Republican Party clinging to his false claims of a stolen election, eroding trust in the accuracy of the vote.
“Here in the United States we know as well as anyone that renewing our democracy and strengthening our democratic institutions requires constant effort,” Biden said..
Beyond rhetoric, the president announced he was launching an initiative to spend up to $424 million for programming around the world that supports independent media, anti-corruption work and more.
Thursday’s video gathering drew backlash from the United States’ chief adversaries and other nations that were not invited.
The ambassadors to the U.S. from China and Russia wrote a joint essay describing the Biden administration as exhibiting a “Cold-War mentality” that will “stoke up ideological confrontation and a rift in the world.” The administration also faced scrutiny over how it went about deciding which countries to invite. China and Russia were among those that did not receive invitations.
Other leaders at the summit delivered their own remarks on the state of democracy — many prerecorded — often reflecting on the stress that rapidly evolving technology is having on their nations. They also bemoaned the increase of disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining institutions and elections.