Joe Biden, projected to become the next U.S. president, will need to roll back many of President Donald Trump's foreign policies to "Make U.S. Join the World Again," according to Debra Ruh, an American radio talk show host, and social media influencer.
While Trump often vowed to "Make America Great Again", his unenviable legacy saw Washington drift in the opposite direction as it withdrew from international institutions and treaties and weakened the country's historical alliances.
Over the past four years, the Trump administration has overseen the U.S. pulling out of several multilateral frameworks, including the Paris Climate Agreement, Iran nuclear deal, Trans-Pacific Partnership, UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and World Health Organization (WHO).
"A lot of things Trump did like taking us out of the WHO hurt our interests and U.S. global standing. Who pulls out from WHO during a pandemic? This is ridiculous. Not only does it hurt us with the fight against COVID-19, but it's going to hurt the world with other things like polio eradication, for instance," the CEO and Founder of Ruh Global IMPACT told CGTN Digital.
Ruh asserted that Biden and Kamala Harris, projected to be the next U.S. vice president, are already planning to "Make U.S. Join the World Again", and rolling back some of Trump's decisions is their top priority. She cited the creation of the COVID-19 task force by Biden immediately after the election results as a sign of things to come.
"I believe that when they get into the office on January 20, they will have the executive orders ready to join the WHO, to join the Paris Agreement, to go back and talk to Iran. We were starting to have some real headways in our conversations with Iran till Trump did what he did. But Biden and Harris have already vowed to us that these executive orders are going to be ready to go on Day 1 (of the presidency)," she insisted, speaking via Zoom from her residence in Rockville, Virginia, U.S.
In the case of WHO, the U.S., on July 6, 2020, served the required one-year notice to express its formal intent to withdraw from the UN health agency effective July 6, 2021. "Luckily, we have that one year so Biden could get into office and stop that from happening before the July deadline. But we are definitely joining the Paris accord, and we're going to join the world again. We are coming back home," she reiterated.
Describing Biden as a "friend of China", Ruh appeared confident that he will initiate the process of repairing ties with Beijing that have been severely damaged during the Trump presidency. "Biden is a very decent, honorable man and has been very consistent. He has worked with China for years."
Watch CGTN Interview: Will Biden be a friend to China?
Ruh emphasized that both Biden and Harris understand the need for the U.S. to collaborate with other countries. "We are one amazing, beautiful, fantastic country that is part of the world, and we need to join other leaders," she remarked, hoping that the U.S. under new leadership will be more flexible and accommodating in its approach with other nations.
"I think most Americans just want us to have a peaceful country that works with other countries and values what other countries are doing, including the innovation coming from China and all the smart, amazing people there," she added. "We don't have all the answers. We've got to collaborate and work together."
Ruh, a vocal critic of Trump, underlined how the president's mistakes triggered a socio-political churning in the U.S., leading to his defeat in the election. "There were many positive things that happened to the United States because of Trump," she said in sarcasm.
"If we didn't have Trump, we wouldn't have had the Me Too Movement, where the women dragged those men that were taking advantage of us out of their offices, out of their positions. We wouldn't have had Black Lives Matter in a meaningful way," she reasoned.
"Trump actually started attacking diversity and inclusion. So, I think it woke a lot of us up. That's why you saw more Americans than ever before go to the polls," Ruh explained.
Still, 71 million Americans voted for Trump – the most ever by a sitting U.S. president. "I think some of the reasons why that happened is because of the rhetoric, fake news, and misinformation."
She fears that Trump could unleash violence before the next president takes office on January 20, 2021. "I'm scared Trump's going to call out the white supremacists to come in start attacking people. So please pray for the U.S."
Interviewer and script: Abhishek G Bhaya
Video editors: Chen Haomin
Cover image: Du Chenxin
Director: Mei Yan