Brooks: ‘Essence’ of Biden’s View is that ‘When the U.S. Begins Withdrawing,’ It Gives Russia, Hamas a Green Light

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks said that the “essence” of President Joe Biden’s view of the world and possibly why he was elected is that “when the U.S. begins withdrawing, then that’s a green light to Putin, that’s a green light to Hamas.”

Co-host Geoff Bennett said, “The President, in his address last night, as Jonathan mentioned, he said the U.S. holds the world together. It was very much a recitation of President Biden’s worldview.”

Brooks responded, “Yeah, and it was the essence of his worldview and maybe why he was elected. At this moment, he used the word inflection point. And I think he’s right, and that is one thing, there’s a foreign policy scholar named Robert Kagan who wrote a book a couple of years ago now called ‘The Jungle Grows Back.’ And the core point of that book is, people can take U.S. leadership for granted, but when the U.S. begins withdrawing, then that’s a green light to Putin, that’s a green light to Hamas. And so, the U.S. has to be involved. It is not a role we’ve ever loved. But if you happen to be as dominant an economic and military power as we are, it’s a role that’s thrust upon you, and if you don’t take these actions, then it’s immensely costly.”

He continued, “And the President and the administration put together an aid package that includes aid to Israel, aid to Ukraine, it’s some on the southern border. It’s a big multi let’s-keep-the-world-safe aid package, let’s-fight-off-barbarism aid package. And it’s expensive. But it’d be — imagine the cost if Ukraine fell, imagine how much our defense budget would have to go up if China took over Taiwan, or if somehow Hamas was able to push Israel out of existence. Imagine how much we’re spending. So, to me, this bill that the administration has put together, while costly, is way less than the alternatives.”

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