Biden Holds Democracy Summit as Rogue Regimes and Pandemic Measures Undermine Freedom Around the World

ABOVE: Robert Wilkie, former secretary of Veterans Affairs and current visiting fellow in the Center for National Defense at the Heritage Foundation, appeared on CBN News' Faith Nation to discuss the Biden administration's "performance art masquerading at diplomacy." Faith Nation is seen weeknights on the CBN News Channel. 

President Biden urged a gathering of more than 100 leaders of democratic countries Thursday to stop the backward slide of rights and democracy.

"In my view, this is the defining challenge of our time: Democracy. Government of the people, by the people, for the people can at times be fragile. But it also is inherently resilient," Biden said.

His remarks came during the kick-off to his two-day virtual summit for democracy. He's calling on fellow leaders to collaborate on defending against authoritarianism, combat corruption, and promote respect for human rights.

China and Russia Sidelined for Bad Behavior

Both Taiwan and Ukraine are among the attendees while the authoritarian regimes in China and Russia were noticeably not invited as they continue their military harassment of their smaller neighbors. 

Ahead of the summit, ambassadors from China and Russia, which are two of the world's most repressive governments, wrote a joint editorial calling the gathering a product of a "Cold War mentality" that will create new dividing lines. But Russia's exclusion is not due to some imagined Cold War scenario. Urgency is mounting over the regime's military buildup on the border with Ukraine. The White House is warning Russian President Putin of "severe consequences" if he invades Ukraine. It's an immediate test of how far the Biden administration will go to protect democracy abroad.

Dr. Robert Wilkie, the former undersecretary for Defense, told CBN News it's not enough to deny bad actors like Russia and China a seat at the table. He said the people those regimes persecute should have been invited instead. "Noticeably absent from this forum are dissidents from Russia, dissidents from Hong Kong, dissidents from China, Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran," he said.

Wilkie, the former V.A. chief under President Trump, said Biden has failed to take on the world's top dictators. "If you want to make an impact on the world and say that yes we are here to promote the natural rights of all human beings you have to take a step forward and actually challenge the regimes that are a threat to the world," he said.

The democracy summit comes as the U.S. faces a deepening divide on how to secure election results. President Biden said Thursday that no democracy is perfect, but all can lock arms and commit to being better.

A Pandemic of Authoritarianism

Meanwhile, critics are also pointing out that many of the world's purportedly democratic leaders have deployed authoritarian methods during the pandemic, like COVID detention camps in Australia, broad lockdowns, mandatory vaccines, shuttering churches from New Jersey to California, and jailing pastors in Canada.

A Freedom House report called "Democracy under Lockdown" stated, "The country experts surveyed as part of the project identified four problems as the most acute during the COVID-19 pandemic: lack of government transparency and information on the coronavirus, corruption, lack of protection for vulnerable populations, and government abuses of power."

"What began as a worldwide health crisis has become part of the global crisis for democracy," said Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House. "Governments in every part of the world have abused their powers in the name of public health, seizing the opportunity to undermine democracy and human rights."  

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***