I suspect Joe Biden’s looking beyond the primaries to the general presidential election now: after all, the primaries are just the first step to becoming president. More than that, Biden has experience of working in the White House, and he knows the importance of maintaining effective foreign policy — something Donald Trump seems incapable of.

Let’s be honest: this is one area that Biden can excel in, because he has considerably more experience than most of the other Democratic candidates.

I also have a sneaky suspicion that part of the reasons behind it are because of the issue with the British Ambassador’s private communiques being leaked, placing Trump in a rather negative light (referring to him as ‘inept’). Trump’s natural response to this was to throw a tantrum that ultimately pressured the Ambassador into resigning — something which simply should not have happened.

Biden’s well aware that Trump not only demonstrated a serious lack of political experience here (since most of those that have it would be aware that an Ambassador is paid to tell the truth about the nation they’re assigned to, even if that commentary isn’t flattering), but also highlighting that it could have been handled far better — and that Biden would have done this. His remarks make it clear that he agreed with the Ambassador on this:

“The world sees Trump for what he is: insincere, ill-informed, and impulsive. Sometimes corrupt. Dangerously incompetent, and incapable, in my view, of world leadership and leadership at home.”

It’s also a way of observing to foreign allies that Americans also noticed the same things that the Ambassador picked up on, and that they’re not alone in thinking of Trump as incompetent.

For Biden, this is where he gets to showcase his experience, his understanding of international politics, and to make it clear to the American people that he has a very different vision of how the US should engage with other nations: as a leader, not as a bully or as a toddler throwing a tantrum.

It’s a smart move to position himself this way: he makes it clear that he’s looking beyond the Democratic nomination (and indeed, the party), starts pushing for a foreign policy platform that runs counter to the Trump administration’s approach, and reminds the American people that there’s a better way.