In an interview with FRANCE 24, Anthony Gardner, former US Ambassador to the EU, discussed President-elect Joe Biden's pick of Antony Blinken for secretary of state and how the incoming administration must re-engage with long-time US allies after President Donald Trump’s unilateral approach to foreign policy.
Gardner worked with Blinken in the administrations of former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and described Blinken’s behaviour at a high-level meeting to discuss Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014.
“A lot of big egos (were) around the table,” said Gardner. “I never saw him [Blinken] lose his cool.”
Gardner said that Blinken will not only need to restore morale at the US State Department but show Americans that “working with allies” is in their interests.
"Can we show the American people over the next four years that working with allies, working within the rules and the institutions we built after the Second World War yields better results for them than going it alone?" Gardner asked.
“We have to make that case successfully ... in two years – before the midterm elections," he added.
Click on the player to watch the interview in full.
