(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden started his last week in office with a final foreign policy speech to the country during which he touted his administration’s work in foreign policy over the last four years.
The address was a victory lap for the president, with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan saying he believes America is much safer now than it was four years ago.
The president also emphasized two areas where he hoped President-elect Donald Trump’s administration would continue work — development of artificial intelligence and protection of people’s rights and data as AI develops and the transition to clean energy.
Biden said some people in the incoming administration don’t believe in climate change, and called them “dead wrong,” questioning whether or not they came from another century.
“It’s the single greatest existential threat to humanity,” the outgoing president said.
Some topics Biden touched on include wars in Ukraine and the Middle East; increasing Chinese aggression in the South China Sea; and Iran and North Korea, which are both on the brink of becoming nuclear powers.
The president also addressed NATO, emphasizing that he had worked to get other NATO members to pay their fair share, increasing their defense budgets. The amount NATO members contribute to defense spending has been a talking point for President-elect Donald Trump, who has suggested the U.S. could pull out of the alliance and accused other nations of not paying enough.
Recently, Biden signed off on a $500 million aid package for Ukraine meant to go toward military aid, such as spare parts for planes, small arms and ammunition, and air defense missiles.
In total, the U.S. has provided around $65 billion in military aid for Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
Republican President-elect Donald Trump has highlighted the soaring cost of the war and says he believes he can bring an end to the conflict quickly once taking office.
In his address, Biden also addressed the chaotic withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. A Pew Research Center survey found around a quarter of Americans thought the Biden administration did a good or excellent job handling the withdrawal.
Biden said he saw no reason to keep thousands of service members in Afghanistan and noted that he keeps a paper with the number of dead and wounded in America’s longest conflict with him in his car as a reminder.
Monday’s speech came after Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
On Monday morning, talks between Israel and Hamas over a possible ceasefire deal, likely to include the release of some hostages, will continue. Officials said Monday that while U.S. and Arab mediators have made significant progress overnight, a deal has not yet been reached.
Biden closed his speech by saying America is the only country in the world to be founded on an idea, focused on the future and progress.
“There is nothing, nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together and commit to it,” Biden said. “Nothing.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.