What Do Americans Want from Biden's Foreign Policy?

Podcast Deep Dish on Global Affairs Podcast
After ten months of Biden in office, new public opinion data show Americans support most, but not all, of his foreign policy strategy.
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The 2021 Chicago Council Survey shows Americans are on board with the majority of the Biden administration’s foreign policy agenda, which is focused on decisions that benefit everyday Americans. But when it comes to trade, there are important differences between public opinion and this approach to foreign policy. Council President Ivo Daalder and the American Enterprise Institute’s Kori Schake join Deep Dish to explain what Americans think of a "Foreign Policy for the Middle Class" and why the administration should reassess some of their assumptions.

About the Experts
Ivo H. Daalder
President Emeritus, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Headshot of Ivo H. Daalder
Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013, took on the new role of CEO in 2023, and now serves as president emeritus. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council.
Headshot of Ivo H. Daalder
Kori Schake
Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
headshot of Kori Schake wearing striped shirt, glasses, smiling in front of white background
Kori Schake is a senior fellow and the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Before joining AEI, she was the deputy director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. She is the author of five books, including her most recent, "The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States" (2025).
headshot of Kori Schake wearing striped shirt, glasses, smiling in front of white background
Brian Hanson
Former Vice President, Studies
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Brian Hanson served as the vice president of studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He managed the Council's research operations and hosted the Council's weekly podcast, Deep Dish on Global Affairs.
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