< p>US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has stood up for President Joe Biden amid criticism of his performance in recent election debates. Blinken highlights how Biden's strategies and decisions over the past three and a half years have significantly increased global confidence in American leadership.
Blinken was asked during an event at the "Brookings" what will US friends and enemies around the world say about American leadership after Biden's poor performance.
The US Secretary of State said that people around the world are looking at what Biden has done since coming to power, not just his performance on the night of the debates, and that they appreciate his politics, BTA reports.
Blinken said people see a president who has restored America's position, put America back on the world map, restored alliances, partnerships.
"If you look at polls around the world, as far as they can be trusted, you will see time and time again that confidence in American leadership has risen significantly over the last three and a half years," he noted.
"This does not just happen /.../ It is the result of the policy we lead, the result of our commitment. They see President Biden leading the way in all these different areas in a way that brings people together and is focused at the same time on the challenges that we face and that are common to so many countries," Blinken noted.
Biden's supporters had hoped the pre-election debates would allay concerns that he was too old for another term, but instead his performance fueled doubts. Some Democrats have even called for Biden to be replaced with another candidate.