Marjorie Taylor Greene’s antics show that the 2024 election will be about America’s role in the world

This week offers a split-screen in how the GOP and Democrats will approach global affairs

Politics very rarely offers a symmetric split-screen image between Democrats and Republicans. But this week provided a perfect contrast in how Democrats and Republicans approach international affairs, with President Joe Biden preaching the virtues of the liberal international order while the loudest voices in the GOP talked about America retreating from the world.

This week, Mr Biden traveled abroad to the United Kingdom for a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III, to Lithuania for a summit for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and to Helsinki, Finland for a meeting with Nordic leaders. The venture also doubles as a reminder to voters back home that an added benefit of Mr Biden’s age is his experience and understanding of international affairs.

Mr Biden also notched some early wins throughout his trip, such as Turkey lifting its block on Sweden joining Nato after he worked the phone with Recep Tayyip Erdogan while aboard Air Force One. In addition, the US president delivered a spirited speech at the Great Court at Vilnius University to 10,000 observers.

This is not to say that his international tour went off without any kinks. Despite an announcement from the G7 on its continued support for Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia’s assault, the United States and Ukraine still differ on when the latter country can join Nato, with the United States and other countries wanting to wait until the war’s end.

On Friday, Mr Biden reaffirmed the US commitment to Nato at the presidential palace in Helsinki. Politico’s Playbook could not help but notice the parallel with five years ago, when former president Donald Trump held a joint briefing with Vladimir Putin where Mr Trump appeared to take the Russian president’s words denying the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 election at face value.

Mr Trump’s presidency, of course, heralded a shift within the Republican Party from a more hawkish foreign policy to adopting the idea of “America First,” which is particularly allergic to international alliances like Nato. And indeed, this week, one of his biggest devotees, Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have the United States withdraw from Nato.

In her announcement, she parroted many of Mr Trump’s talking points, claiming other countries freeload off the United States while not paying into their share into the organization. Of course, it is highly unlikely that such an amendment would pass given that many Republicans, particularly in the Senate, see Nato as a vital institution.

The amendment also offered Mr Biden the ability to contrast himself with Ms Greene, saying that the United States would stay “connected to Nato, beginning, middle, and end.”

Of course, Ms Greene does not stand alone in her hesitation toward America’s global commitments. Mr Trump, who for years questioned the validity of organisations like Nato, remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president. In the same vein, his closest competitor for the opportunity to challenge Mr Biden, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, dubbed the war between Ukraine and Russia a “territorial dispute” to now-former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidates with more traditional foreign policy views like Nikki Haley, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, have failed to catch fire in the run-up to the Iowa caucuses.

Ms Greene’s remarks also create a litmus test for Republicans because of her widespread popularity within the GOP. It is not infeasible to think that Republican candidates, particularly at Carlson’s presidential forum, which Mr Trump will skip, will be asked about whether they agree with Ms Greene with this new standard (while all the while saying that Mr Biden is actually weak on the global stage).

By contrast, Mr Biden can seize these squabbles as an opportunity to become the “adult in the room” who understands the necessary commitments that America makes to the world because they in turn make America safer.