Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) thinks President Joe Biden’s first foreign trip in office did not accomplish much but also caused no harm.
During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Christie said, “I think that bar was low because he didn’t get in conflict with anybody. There wasn’t any kind of difficult moments.”
“In the end, I think not much was accomplished, but no damage was done, and I think that’s probably all they were looking for, George, was to come out unscathed, no big mistakes, come home, and he can say ‘America’s back.’ That’s what his point was, and I don’t think he did anything that made us believe that we weren’t,” he added.
Watch the video below:
"I think the bar was low," @GovChristie says of Pres. Biden's trip abroad, adding: "In the end I think not much was accomplished, but no damage was done and I think that's probably all they were looking for." https://t.co/v6CYeg4CLL pic.twitter.com/tQEC6P1sYp
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 20, 2021
During his trip, Biden met with members of the G-7, the world’s wealthiest, large democracies, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
As The New York Times reports, Biden had three main goals during his trip, “Convince the allies that America was back, and for good; gather them in common cause against the rising threat of China; and establish some red lines for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whom he called his ‘worthy adversary.’”
Biden was able to secure commitments from G-7 leaders on funding infrastructure projects in developing nations to counter China’s infrastructure investments in developing nations. Additionally, the group agreed to donate 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to developing nations over the next year.
And the finance ministers for the G-7 nations agreed to a framework for a global 15% minimum corporate tax rate.
NATO leaders also signed off on a communique that said China’s “stated ambitions and assertive behaviour present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order.”
White House officials said one of Biden’s main goals was to build trust and credibility with allies to lay the groundwork for future agreements.
