3 things to know about Biden’s U.N. address

In what felt at times like a farewell address, President Joe Biden spoke at the United Nations in New York City on Tuesday, where he highlighted his support for Ukraine and argued the “center has held” in the world, despite the conflicts raging in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Biden was among the many world leaders who spoke at the opening of the 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly. Biden and other world leaders acknowledged the conflicts affecting millions of people in places like Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine.
Biden started his address by reminiscing about his 50-plus years of experience in national and global politics after his election to the U.S. Senate in 1972 when he was 29 years old. Biden said the world was at an inflection point then, because of the Cold War, and that it is an inflection point now.
“Things can get better. We should never forget that,” he said.
Biden defended his administration’s foreign policy, after receiving criticism in the past over the U.S.’s hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, for deteriorating stability, as well as for allowing Iran to come within weeks of having a nuclear weapon.
Before his speech, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told journalists Biden would outline “his vision for how the world should come together to resolve these big problems and defend fundamental principles, such as the U.N. Charter.”
She said throughout his meetings with world leaders this week, Biden would “rally global action to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges, including climate change; the opioid epidemic; mobilizing resources for developing countries; managing the risk and benefits of artificial intelligence; and helping end the brutal wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan; among many others.”
Biden quoted lines from the William Butler Yeats poem “The Second Coming,” “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world … .” But, Biden said, he believes that “in our time, the center has held.”
“Leaders and people from every region and across the political spectrum have stood together, to turn the page on the worst pandemic in a century,” he said. Biden also cited his administration’s policies on climate change, defending Ukraine against a Russian invasion, and defending the U.N. Charter.
Biden pledged to continue to support Ukraine, and to try to steer clear of conflict with China over trade, Taiwan and over China’s ambitions in the South China Sea.
Biden said his administration is “working to bring a greater measure of peace and stability in the Middle East.” He also called out Iran, saying they were funding proxies who foment violence in the region and said that the world must “ensure that Iran will never, ever obtain a nuclear weapon.”
On Israel, Biden continued to declare the U.S.’ support for its ally, and said the nation had a right to defend itself after the attacks by Hamas almost a year ago.
“The world must not flinch from the horrors of October 7,” he said. “Any country — any country — would have the right and responsibility to ensure that such an attack could never happen again.”
He said he’s grieved with the families of hostages. “They’re going through hell,” he said.
“Innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell,” he continued, before detailing how his administration has worked to try to orchestrate a cease-fire.
“Now is the time for the parties to finalize its terms, bring the hostages home and secure security for Israel and Gaza, free of Hamas’ grip, ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war.”
Biden said they’ve also been trying to keep war from spreading across the region, saying a “full scale war is not in anyone’s interest,” and that “a diplomatic solution is still possible.”
Biden called on world leaders to do more to help the 8 million people suffering because of the civil war in Sudan, saying the are on the brink of famine, while hundreds of thousands are “already there.”
“The United States has led the world in providing humanitarian aid to Sudan and with our partners, who have led diplomatic talks to try to silence the guns and abort and avert a wider famine,” he said.
“The world needs to stop arming the generals. To speak with one voice and tell them, ‘stop tearing your country apart. Stop blocking aid to the Sudanese people. End this war now.’”
In the final moments of his speech, Biden called on world leaders to “never forget, some things are more important than staying in power. It’s your people. It’s your people that matter the most.”
“Never forget, we are here to serve the people, not the other way around. Because the future will be won by those who unleash the full potential of their people — to breathe freely, to think freely, to innovate, educate, to live and love openly, without fear. That’s the soul of democracy. It does not belong to any one country,” he said.