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Commentary
Wall Street Journal

A Presidential Debate Heard ’Round the World

Seeing foreign policy as a crucial Biden weakness, Trump hammers away.

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
Patrons attend a watch party for the first presidential debate of the 2024 presidential elections in San Francisco, California, on June 27, 2024. (Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Patrons attend a watch party for the first presidential debate of the 2024 presidential elections in San Francisco, California, on June 27, 2024. (Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)

As Thursday’s presidential debate reverberated through American politics, most attention focused on President Biden’s faltering performance. But there is another dimension to the story. The debate moved foreign policy to center stage in the presidential race even as it raised the temperature of world politics and increased the chances of more international crises as the U.S. election approaches.

American presidential debates typically revolve around domestic issues like fiscal policy and culture wars, but last week’s shocker was an exception. has decided that foreign policy is a crucial weakness of the Biden presidency, and he hammered relentlessly at a theme he believes will work for him.