What impact could more Western sanctions on Russia have?
Putin’s Russia could face greater trade penalties if it invades Ukraine.
ByJoe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr was the forty-sixth president of the United States. Biden, born in 1942, was senator for Delaware for 36 years and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before becoming Barack Obama’s vice-president. He assumed office as president on 20 January 2021, having beaten Donald Trump in the election the previous November, and left it on 20 January 2025, after stepping down from the nomination for the 2024 campaign in favour of Kamala Harris. Find our latest news and comment here.
Biden’s call with Putin didn’t solve anything
When it comes to Ukraine, neither Russia nor the US can get what they want.
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Kamala Harris is flailing. Is it too late for her to recover?
If the vice-president is failing to meet her targets, then some fault lies with the man setting them.
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The US is boycotting the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. China’s not happy.
Chinese officials have condemned Joe Biden’s decision but could other countries follow suit?
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America’s leaders are old. That’s a problem
Is it time for the US’s (literal) old guard to move on?
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Can Joe Biden and Xi Jinping work together?
Both leaders must work out how to balance the protection of national interests with the need for cooperation on global…
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Have the US and EU healed relations?
The two sides have shown they can cooperate, but there is still trouble ahead.
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Liberal democracy is still under threat
In countries such as the US, Italy and France, status quo-style politics won’t win elections anymore.
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Joe Manchin, the influential Democrat blocking climate action
The senator’s ability to halt progress on climate legislation will have consequences not just for the US but for the…
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Joe Biden and the spectre of Donald Trump
Suffering electoral defeats and a polling slump, the US president cannot shake his predecessor’s hold on American politics.
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Why Joe Biden’s domestic troubles are haunting him abroad
The past week should be a wake-up call for the US president.
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Why climate migrants are missing from the debate at Cop26
Until the world agrees how to define a “climate migrant”, legislation to protect them will lag behind the reality of…
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How Joe Biden’s approval rating plunged to a new low
The US president is far less popular than Barack Obama was at the same stage in his presidency.
By The US is not a leader in the fight against climate change
Joe Biden needs to get his own house in order before he can lecture others at Cop26.
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Is John Kerry the man for the climate moment?
The US’s special climate envoy faces the daunting task of winning over sceptics at Cop26 – and at home.
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Climate concern doesn’t divide by income: politicians should stop portraying it as a “class war”
Right-wing interests present eco-anxiety as a middle-class issue, but lower income groups will suffer most from climate impacts.
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Why Big Oil is about to experience its “Big Tobacco” moment
A historic congressional hearing with oil executives may not have produced a smoking gun, but the tobacco industry has showed…
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Fiona Hill: “US democracy is on a precipice right now”
The woman who made international headlines with her testimony on Trump talks Russia, conspiracy theories, sexism and Joe Biden.
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Afghanistan shows the American dream of remaking the world is over
If the US’s occupation of Afghanistan was a failed exercise in nation-building, its withdrawal could mark a long overdue shift…
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John Simpson’s Diary: crossing the Khyber Pass, why the Taliban is a problem for Imran Khan, and my biblical comeback
The Taliban’s leaders want to show the group has modernised – but it will be the same as it ever…
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