This week the U.S. is hosting an America-is-back “Summit for Democracy” with 110 other countries. It is, of course, virtual, which has an upside: There wouldn’t be enough space for the elephant in the room—even without Russia and China. While the U.S. is charting a comeback course as the ultimate democracy leader in a world that craves one like never before, the recent pre-Biden iteration and the international lens are not what they used to be.
The U.S. is now seen by too many as a country whose principles seem sadly shy of unassailable, even bordering on hypocritical. It’s what happens when you’ve enabled four years of an unconscionable, existential-threat, authoritarian president, given voice to white nationalism, played the geopolitical isolationist card, disdained climate change, emboldened xenophobia, encouraged voter suppression, prioritized politics over sane gun control and allowed the world to view the awful optics of a democratic insurrection at America’s Capitol. And that cult-figure, Mussolini wannabe–hardly what the Founding Fathers had in mind for a president–still lingers with lethal leverage, still making the case for a fraudulent vote count in America’s manifestly vulnerable electoral system.
The reality, however, is that the U.S. is still the world’s best hope. No one else could credibly host this summit. Wealth, power, impact and ideals matter. The onus is on President Joe Biden to remind and convince the world—and Americans—that America is, indeed, building back better.