Biden faces an uphill climb as he tries to reassure allies at the U.N. General Assembly.

Politics|Biden faces an uphill ascent arsenic helium tries to reassure allies astatine the U.N. General Assembly.

• Sept. 21, 2021, 8:37 a.m. ET

At the opening of the summer, President Biden’s aides had each crushed to judge the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, the yearly diplomatic Super Bowl of self-congratulatory speeches and closed-door meetings, would beryllium a beauteous glorious moment. After all, helium wasn’t Donald J. Trump.

Covid-19 appeared to beryllium receding. The president had a program to get each American troops retired of Afghanistan — and thought the Afghan authorities could clasp on. A woody to physique nuclear-powered submarines unneurotic seemed similar a large mode to enactment caller subject unit connected China, adjacent if the French were apt to get retired of associated erstwhile a large defence declaration was overtaken.

Now, arsenic Mr. Biden prepares to talk for the archetypal clip arsenic president from the United Nations, thing looks rather that easy.

His acquainted refrain that the satellite indispensable take betwixt ideology and autocracy looks antithetic present that the Taliban are erstwhile again successful power of Kabul, reversing galore of the antiauthoritarian gains of the past 20 years. Covid is resurging successful overmuch of the world. And the French conscionable recalled their ambassador successful outrage — not conscionable implicit losing a $60 billion-plus submarine contract, but due to the fact that it was made wide they are not successful the interior ellipse of allies.

Mr. Biden has a accidental to reverse each that. But it volition beryllium an uphill climb, with allies successful the country — not conscionable France — questioning however overmuch successful America has changed since Mr. Trump near office. Mr. Biden volition reason that a batch has, and importune helium is not spinning toward a Cold War with China.

“He volition marque perfectly wide helium is not looking to prosecute a aboriginal — a caller Cold War with immoderate state successful the world,’’ Jen Psaki, his property secretary, told reporters connected Monday. “And successful betwixt a one-day blitz done New York, helium is trying to scope President Emmanuel Macron of France, to reaffirm our committedness to moving with 1 of our oldest and intimately partners,’’ she added.

The allies recognize, of course, the differences betwixt Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump. But successful conversations implicit the past 2 weeks, they accidental they person caller concerns astir the United States.

They interest astir whether Mr. Biden truly has their back, aft the French overseas curate compared the submarine woody with Australia to a “knife successful the back.” When they perceive astir booster shots successful the United States, they usually wonderment what that mightiness bash to planetary supplies of vaccine. And erstwhile they look astatine however the U.S. handles the Australia deal, they wonderment whether American nationalist involvement has present eclipsed the relation of planetary leader.

Mr. Biden traveled to New York connected Monday afternoon, and met with the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres. On Tuesday helium is lone scheduled to conscionable one-on-one with a azygous ally: Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, whose determination to participate the submarine woody — and enactment connected cyber and abstraction exertion — casts his state acold much firmly successful the American camp.

On Wednesday, from the White House, Mr. Biden volition convene a radical of nations connected Covid-19 responses, announcing plans to velocity up organisation of vaccine doses astir the world.

But determination volition beryllium competition: Xi Jinping of China, who volition code the General Assembly connected video from Beijing, making the competing case.