Marles to meet Trump Republicans on US trip as Biden fights for his future
Washington: Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will meet Trump Republicans to shore up ongoing support for the AUKUS submarine deal as the world braces for another potential shake-up of American leadership at this year’s US election.
But as Joe Biden fights for his political life following his devastating performance in the first presidential debate, Marles – who is in Washington for the NATO summit – threw his support behind the embattled president, praising the global alliances forged under his administration.
President Joe Biden (centre) stands as others arrive during an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of NATO at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington.Credit: AP
“We could not be more pleased with that, and we’re certainly very pleased about the focus that the Biden administration has placed on the Indo-Pacific, and on the issues which are front and centre for Australia,” he said.
“We are seeing strong leadership by America … and that is absolutely critical in terms of the challenges that the world faces today.”
The comments come at a pivotal week for Biden, who is resisting calls to stand down from the 2024 race amid doubts about his mental acuity and his ability to beat Trump when voters head to the polls on November 5.
The White House is hoping the president can turn the page on speculation with his speech welcoming the NATO member states at a dinner on Tuesday (Wednesday Australian time) in which he spoke with a strong and confident voice, avoiding any verbal flubs or signs of confusion that marked his debate performance.
“[Vladimir] Putin wants nothing less, nothing less, than Ukraine’s total subjugation ... and to wipe Ukraine off the map,” Biden said, referring to the Russian president. “Ukraine can and will stop Putin.”
After days of pressure, the 81-year-old president had a slight reprieve on Tuesday when Congressional Democrats emerged from crisis talks with many expressing a reluctance to push him aside, despite lingering concerns about his debate performance.
Biden also secured the support – at least for now – of the powerful Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, as well as progressive firebrands Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, better known as AOC.
“The matter is closed,” she told reporters after speaking to the president over the weekend. “He is in this race and I support him.”
Trump, at a campaign rally in Florida, challenged Biden to another debate this week to give him “a chance to redeem himself … and prove he has what it takes to be president”. He then went on to extend that offer to a golf match.
The potential return of Trump to the White House is a strong possibility given most polls now have him ahead of Biden in key battleground states.
This in turn would have global ramifications given the Republican has long been critical of alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and what he sees as a financial burden on the US to assist in the defence of the other nations involved.
It is also not clear what a future Trump administration may mean for AUKUS, the multibillion-dollar pact between the US, Australia and the UK to help Australia acquire nuclear-propelled submarines or for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
Asked by this masthead if he was concerned about the future of AUKUS, should there be a change of administration, Marles pointed to the bipartisan support that the initiative had received so far, including the legislation passed by Democrats and Republicans to implement it.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.Credit: Simon Schluter
“We are confident that whatever happens in November in America, we will continue to have a strong alliance with the United States, and the key equities that we have in that alliance will be able to be maintained,” he said.
But with four months until the election, the deputy prime minister and defence minister will nonetheless spend part of his US trip meeting members of Congress on Wednesday – including Trump-aligned Republicans – to talk up the importance of AUKUS and “making clear what the next challenges are in terms of the AUKUS journey.”
But overall, he said, “we have really been pleased and gratified by the support that we see for AUKUS across the political spectrum in the United States”.
Marles is in Washington in the absence of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has been criticised for not attending the NATO summit, which is set against the backdrop of political turmoil in the US and European politics, Russia’s war on Ukraine, China’s rise and heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Australia is not a member nation but shares a commitment to global security with NATO countries and partners.
A large focus of the summit will be to shore up transatlantic support for Ukraine, with Biden meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.
As part of his three-day trip, Marles will attend a meeting of the Indo-Pacific Four (IP4), alongside the leaders of Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. He will also take part in the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, an annual event attended by national security and strategic policy leaders from both countries.
Among the members of Congress he will meet is Republican Senator Dan Sullivan who, on the day Trump was convicted in his hush money trial described it as a “sad day for America”. He will also meet Republican senators Roger Wicker, Jack Reed and Jim Risch, Republican congressman Mike Rogers and Democrat congressmen Joe Courtney and Adam Smith.
Smith, a member of the powerful House armed services committee, was one of the more influential Democrats to call on Biden to stand down this week.
“The president’s performance in the debate was alarming to watch and the American people have made it clear they no longer see him as a credible candidate to serve four more years as president,” Smith said in a statement.
“Since the debate, the president has not seriously addressed these concerns.”
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