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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Simon Tisdall

Outdated and out of time: Biden’s crusade for global democracy is doomed to fail

Joe Biden walks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy during an unannounced visit to Kyiv last Monday
Joe Biden walks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy during an unannounced visit to Kyiv last Monday. Photograph: Reuters

It was Joe Biden’s week. His energised performance in Kyiv and Warsaw recalled the campaigning style of a much younger man. Russian media sniped that the US president was warming up for his 2024 re-election campaign. They missed the point. He almost certainly intends to run again. Yet last week’s adrenaline rush had a different cause.

Biden has cast himself as a latter-day Lionheart, leading a global crusade against the bad guys – what he calls “a test for the ages”. He’s on a high. He believes he, and the cause of democracy, are winning hands down. Sadly, he’s wrong.

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