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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Simon Tisdall

In a world on fire, Biden struggles to banish the curse of Trump

A seated Donald Trump shaking hands with Vladimir Putin in front of Russian and American flags
Donald Trump greets Russian president Vladimir Putin at an unrecorded meeting in Helsinki in 2018. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Is Joe jinxed? In less than three years as US president, Joe Biden has faced more than his fair share of international crises. America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan blew up in his hands like a cluster bomb. Then came Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Europe’s biggest war since 1945. Now, suddenly, the Middle East is in flames.

It could just be bad luck. Or it could be Biden, who prides himself on foreign policy expertise, is not as good at running the world as he thinks. But there is another explanation. It’s called Donald Trump. If Biden’s presidency is cursed, it’s by the toxic legacy of the “very stable genius” who preceded him.

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