Speaking to a group of Democratic donors at a Washington hotel last month, President Joe Biden wanted to underscore just how much of his time lately has been spent confronting a chaotic world.
Seventy-five percent of his job, Biden guessed, is consumed dealing with foreign leaders and traveling the world.
Whether or not that’s an accurate calculation of how Biden spends his days — aides said it sounded elevated amid an intensive stretch of diplomacy — Biden’s remark underscored a looming quandary for himself and his team: how do you respond to two overseas wars that have divided Americans and consumed vast swaths of time while also running a campaign whose stakes are nothing less than the future of American democracy?
In polls, most Americans do not rank foreign policy near the top of their list of concerns. Previous incumbents have run into political trouble and lost when voters view them as overly focused on problems abroad rather than at home. And the volatility of the current foreign conflicts — with the outcome of the war in Ukraine uncertain and the prospect lingering of a wider conflict in the Middle East — makes anticipating their weight next November impossible.
White House officials acknowledge it will be difficult to predict exactly how much of Biden’s time will be spent contending with foreign conflicts as the year develops, and point out the president’s schedule is always a careful balance.
The president will continue holding events that highlight what his team views as high-priority topics for voters, like efforts to slash junk fees and reduce drug costs, and will use marquee moments like his State of the Union address and upcoming campaign stops to set his agenda, including laying out the stakes for democracy, according to people familiar with the plans.
Even as the president turns his attention to the…
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