The Bottom Line

A European take on US politics

France’s former ambassador to Washington gives his assessment of global politics and offers advice to the Biden White House.

Former French Ambassador Gérard Araud sees the United States-China rivalry as the biggest diplomatic challenge ahead, and his advice for US policymakers is: Don’t force countries to pick sides.

At the same time, he warns against overestimating China’s power or underestimating US power.

Araud warns that Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 was not a fluke, as more people in Western societies consider their political systems “rigged”.

In this wide-ranging conversation with host Steve Clemons, Araud openly questions whether the West’s “war on terrorism” in the Muslim world can be won by military means.