Graver cause for concern lies in whether disdain for the Trump legacy becomes its own guiding light. Should Biden and his team default to doing the opposite of the administration they defeated, they risk rolling back some positive achievements as well as weakening the United States by showing the world that its policies don’t last. Amid cascading international crises, the new leadership must consider all worthy precedents without regard to who set them, find ways to signal continuity where possible and chart a course uniquely suited to the moment.
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Consider the fraught debate over administration policies toward Iran. All indications point to a desire by the president to rejoin the Iranian nuclear agreement Obama helped craft, as candidate Biden promised to do. Indications that Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy has not hindered Tehran’s nuclear program support the case for a return to the status quo ante. It is natural, in light of this reality and given t