Anthony Albanese pays tribute to ‘great friend of Australia’ Joe Biden

Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the US Presidential race gives Democrats a “fighting chance” of winning the November election, which foreign policy experts say could have broad implications for Australia’s national interests.

On Sunday local time, the US President put an end to weeks of mounting internal discontent and criticism when he announced he would no longer seek re-election, endorsing his vice-president Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee in his place to take on Donald Trump.

In his statement, Mr Biden said the decision was one that was “in the best interest of my party and the country”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, briefly stepping away from his own annual leave, praised Mr Biden as a “great friend to Australia”, who had made a “difficult” decision.

Recounting his various meetings with Mr Biden since winning office in May 2022, Mr Albanese said the outgoing President had acted with conviction.

“(He) deserves today to be recognised for once again not putting himself first, but giving his first consideration to what he believes is (the) best interests of the United States, as he has done his whole public life,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Albanese praised the President for presiding over a period of improved co-operation between the two countries, especially on climate change action, and lauded Mr Biden’s critical role in bringing Australia and the US closer together - saying that relationship would continue.

“Who the president of the United States is, has an impact on the world as the world’s largest economy and as an important partner of Australia – not just in security issues, but in economic issues, as well,” he said.

US Ambassador Kevin Rudd also praised Mr Biden’s decision, thanking him for his service and saying the US-Australia relationship had “prospered” under his leadership.

It was a sentiment shared by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who said Mr Biden had “strengthened” the relationship between the two countries, and keenly understood how important it was to do so.

“We are a small island nation of 25.8 million people, and the agreement we have with the United States is absolutely essential,” Mr Dutton said.

“Not just from a trading perspective, but also for our security. In a period that the Prime Minister rightly describes as the most precarious since the end of the Second World War, and I believe very strongly that President Biden has done the right thing by this relationship, and I am very grateful for that.”

While the Government and Opposition have both for months publicly maintained the US-Australia relationship is stronger than just who is leading the country, there had been growing concerns behind closed doors about what a second Trump presidency could mean to Canberra, given the former president’s isolationist tendencies and previous America-first approach.

Mr Rudd in Washington, a former vocal critic of Mr Trump, has made a concerted effort to build and bolster relationships with Mr Trump’s team and allies in a bid to ensure Australia would remain a priority should the Republicans win.

Lowy Institute executive director Michael Fullilove said Australia’s interests lay in having a United States that was “determined to be present in the Indo-Pacific”, and had an “alliance-first” approach that struck the right balance in how it dealt with China.

“Mr Biden has been a very fine president, especially when viewed through the prism of Australia’s interests. Why? Partly because he restored decency and integrity to American institutions, and that matters to us because the US is our leading security partner,” he told The Nightly.

“But also in Asia, he strengthened America’s alliances. He elevated the Quad, he stood up AUKUS, he’s managed the relationship with China adroitly, and he and his team have always supported Australia.

“It was very unlikely that Biden was going to beat Trump... I think Biden’s withdrawal gives the Democrats a fighting chance.”

Dr Fullilove said while it was hard to predict what the next US President’s foreign policy approach might be, both Mr Trump and whoever the Democratic nominee was - likely to be confirmed as Ms Harris before the upcoming Democratic National Convention - would take different approaches that would ultimately impact Australia.

“What you would say about Trump, is that at his heart he is an alliance-sceptic ... (vice-president pick JD) Vance has a sort of Asia-first position, but neither of them have a generous view of America’s role in the world,” he said.

“Harris’ positions are more likely to be consistent with long-term American foreign policy positions, but you can’t bet on that.”

He said Australia would be best served with an America that was “well governed, cohesive, appealing and strong”, adding that the US’ internal politics matter to Australia because they “set the tone for democracies around the world, and affect the global balance of power”.

Emma Shortis from the Australia Institute meanwhile suggested Australia should use Mr Biden’s decision to step aside as a relationship reset of its own, and move to abandon its “conciliatory deference” to the US.

She said the prospect of a second Trump presidency remained highly likely, and as such Australia needed to adopt a more “confident and constructive” approach to dealing with the prospect.

“What Australia does matters on the world stage, and we can no longer blindly rely on the United States to defend us,” she said.

“Instead of considering how Australia can accommodate America under Trump, we can instead focus on standing up for what matters to us and push hard for our interests and values. It’s time we learned to work with America, not just for it.”

Greens leader Adam Bandt meanwhile called on American voters to prevent a second Trump presidency, which he warned would be “dangerous”.

“For the climate, for already marginalised communities, and for the growing threat of far right extremism. I hope Americans use their voting power in the upcoming election to stop this from happening.” Mr Bandt said.

“Big respect to Joe Biden for making what would have been a very difficult decision overnight. The new Democratic presidential candidate must do all they can to keep Trump out of office.”