Harris spoke to Netanyahu on Thursday, with a White House readout of the call saying she “underscored the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to the US-Israel partnership,” and affirmed her opposition to the International Criminal Court prosecuting Israeli soldiers for alleged war crimes.
Nothing about the call was surprising, as unwavering support for Israel is a given no matter which party is in charge in Washington. However, Biden’s absence was notable.
Biden spoke to Netanyahu in February, and to President Alejandro Giammattei Falla of Guatemala on Thursday. Yet Harris has taken responsibility for several head-to-head calls with world leaders, most notably Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrisson, as well as World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
That Harris, who had next to no foreign policy experience before coming to the White House, would handle these tasks instead of Biden, who has two stints in the executive branch under his belt already, as well as decades in the Senate, is puzzling. A Politico report attributes Harris’ role as the administration’s international face to her own interest in foreign affairs, and to Biden’s efforts to groom her as a likely successor, given the fact that he will be 82 years old at the end of his first term.
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