Biden draws contrasts with Trump in 1st foreign policy speech
Biden gave his first major foreign policy address at the State Department on Thursday and made several announcements marking a stark shift from his predecessor's "America First" policy.
Biden said he approved an executive order to begin the process to raise the maximum number of refugees allowed into the U.S. every year to 125,000, beginning in fiscal year 2022, which for the U.S. government begins Oct. 1, 2021. Former President Donald Trump had slashed it to 15,000.
"It's going to take time to rebuild what has been so badly damaged, but that's precisely what we're going to do," he said.
Biden announced the U.S. is "ending all support" for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, saying, "This war has to end." The halt would not include U.S. action against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. Biden said he's also naming a special envoy for Yemen.
Unlike his predecessor, Biden established a tough relationship with Russia and called on the Kremlin to release Alexey Navalny.
"I made it clear to President Putin in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions, interfering with our elections, cyber-attacks, poisoning its citizens, are over," he said.
Biden also called on an end to the coup in Myanmar, adding he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have discussed "shared concerns" and are "united in our resolve."
"The Burmese military should relinquish power they have sieged, release the advocates and activists and officials they have detained, lift the restrictions on telecommunications, and refrain from violence," he said.
Biden made several references to the Trump administration but did not name his predecessor by name.
"America cannot afford to be absent any longer on the world stage," he said to conclude.
-ABC News' Conor Finnegan and Ben Gittleson