With President Biden and Vice President Harris on their first international trips, it seems foreign policy is at the top of the agenda.
But, as we have come to learn, there is very little separation between what is important abroad and domestic affairs.
The vice president’s sessions with the presidents of Guatemala and Mexico are directly related to the U.S. southwest border, and Harris’ press conference in Mexico underscored these concerns, particularly the plan to reunite the families divided during the Trump administration.
No doubt the Russian cyberattacks will be discussed, but Biden told the press that the tour, which included meeting with Queen Elizabeth, is more about shoring up the United States’ role as a leader in the free world.
Meanwhile, back on the home front, a number of perplexing issues continue to simmer, none more critical than the unresolved infrastructure package between Biden and leading Republicans. Biden and Harris are certainly not giving up on the fight to head off voter suppression and uphold the For the People Act. Faster than the spread of cicadas, state legislatures across the nation are implementing measures to defeat the Act and bolster their moves to win the midterm elections in 2022. At the core of this danger is Sen. Joe Manchin of W. Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, both Democratic holdouts.
If the electoral policies at home are reversed, we can expect the same results from abroad, and the effects of this intersection are felt most keenly at the front door of the American middle class, to say nothing of its impact on people of color.
Securing the ruptures globally is not to be ignored, but hurry home Biden and keep the pressure on the Republicans, whether it’s on opening the economy in the wake of the pandemic, meeting the onslaught of the voter suppression drive by the Republicans, or mending our crumbling infrastructure.
Mr. President, nobody said any of this would be easy, and it’s good to know and to see that you are not biding your time.