Speaking as much to the history books as to the civil servants gathered at the State Department on Monday afternoon, President Joe Biden said U.S. foreign policy during his term had put the United States and its allies on a stronger footing, another effort to use his final days in office to burnish his presidential legacy.

Biden's domestic agenda was the most progressive of any president since Lyndon Johnson. But it was entwined with a foreign policy that leaves his legacy drowned in blood.

The president argued in a speech that he strengthened U.S. alliances during his four years in office and that America’s adversaries are weaker than when he took over.