WATCH: CNN Grills Psaki On Biden Needing To ‘Restore U.S. Credibility’ After Afghanistan, France Debacles

CNN’s Jeremy Diamond pressed White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday about President Joe Biden’s speech tomorrow at the United Nations and about what Biden plans to do to address numerous recent international crises that have unfolded during Biden’s presidency.

“And just on the foreign policy front with the U.N. visit tomorrow, President Biden came into office declaring that America is back in vowing to reinvigorate U.S. alliances,” Diamond said. “But in recent weeks, we’ve seen European allies be unsettled by the execution of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the administration has admitted to mistakenly killing 10 civilians in this drone strike. And now the U.S.’s  oldest ally, France, has recalled its ambassador after being blindsided by this submarine deal with Australia.”

“So my question to you is, how is the President going to restore U.S. credibility at the U.N. this week after all that?” he asked.

Psaki responded by saying that Biden was going to focus on laying out a case “for why the next decade will determine our future not just for the United States, but for the global community.”

“And he will talk and this will be a central part of his remarks about the importance of re-establishing our alliances after the last several years,” she claimed. “I also think it’s important to note that re-establishing alliances doesn’t mean that you won’t have disagreements, or you won’t have disagreements about how to approach any particular issue in the world. That is not the bar for having an alliance and important, and partnership. That has never been and it is not currently and his, with the goal of course, of increasing the prospect of security and diminishing the prospect of war.”

“He’ll also make clear that for many of the greatest concerns we have, they cannot be solved or even addressed through the force of arms,” she added. “Whether that is preparing for the next pandemic, something the United States continues to be the global leader on, providing more vaccines to the world than every other country combined. Addressing the threat of climate change as we look, all look ahead to COP26, leveling the economic playing field, fighting for democracy at home and abroad and against threats from cybersecurity, ranging from cybersecurity to emerging technologies and terrorism.”

WATCH:

WOW this question to Jen Psaki from CNN's Jeremy Diamond: "Biden came in to office declaring that America is back, & vowing to reinvigorate U.S. alliances, but in recent weeks, we’ve seen European allies be unsettled…How is the President going to restore U.S. credibility[?]" pic.twitter.com/FkAvTEfUax

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 20, 2021

Diamond later followed up by noting that there has been criticism coming from nation’s that Biden vowed to improve relationships with, asking, “Does he believe there’s work to be done to restore that credibility?”

Psaki claimed that there was a difference between “criticism of a decision” and “criticism of the credibility and leadership of the United States.”

“But the larger point here and what you’ll hear the President talk about tomorrow is that we are committed to those alliances and that always requires work from every president, from every global leader,” she claimed. “And his commitment is to make sure we are directing our energy, our resources, our diplomacy, and our efforts on the biggest challenges we’re facing in the world. And to him, that is the threat of climate; the threat of democracy; threat of leveling, the importance of leveling the economic playing field; addressing and preparing for the next pandemic. Those are all issues that we will continue to work with our partners on, including those who may disagree with decisions we’ve made about a variety of issues.”

WATCH:

Diamond: “Given what’s happened in the recent weeks & some of the criticism he’s faced in many of the capitals…Does he believe there’s work to be done to restore that credibility?”

Psaki: “Well, tell me which country is telling you we don't have credibility in the world?” pic.twitter.com/EnLePzK9Gc

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 20, 2021