Why foreign presidential speeches to Congress matter

Why is this proposal important?

A foreign president being invited to speak before a joint session of Congress is a diplomatic honor bestowed upon Congress. It also adds to the prestige of the White House invitation for a state visit to the President.

On the legislative front, the House Speaker’s invitation to a foreign head of state grants the foreign executive branch the rare and unique platform to speak directly to the 535 politicians who make up the legislative branch of the U.S. government. 435 in the House of Representatives, and 100 in the US Senate.

It also gives President Ruto access to senior committee members in the House of Representatives and the Senate, who will respond graciously to calls for political, economic, defense and diplomatic support from Kenya. It provides President Ruto with a free and expansive press in the US and international media space, while raising his profile in Kenya and the African continent as a global player on the international stage.

Only one African president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has addressed a joint session of Congress in eighteen years. This is a first for Kenya.

However, this invitation comes with potential challenges. This is linked to the United States’ increased expectations from Kenya to support its positions on the diplomatic, economic, political and security fronts on the world stage.

Conversely, it raises numerous dilemmas among US rivals over Kenya’s role in the international space.

For example, why is Kenya lagging behind the US? Is the visit to Washington and Ruto’s speech to a joint session of Congress a turn to the West, away from China, Iran, Russia and other US adversaries?

How will America’s rivals drive a wedge in the relationship between Washington and Nairobi? How will regional rivals in Africa check Kenya’s growing influence on the international stage? How will US rivals treat Kenya? What will their expectations be of the country? Does this mean that Kenya is firmly in the US camp and has abandoned its traditional non-aligned status?

Finally, how will such a close relationship with America limit Kenya’s ability to have strategic autonomy in its foreign policy activities on the international stage?

Foreign presidential speeches before Congress. But they also raise several issues and create a plethora of implications. On May 25, 2024, President Ruto will experience the full range of these issues and implications.

The author, Prof. David Monda, teaches International Relations and Foreign Policy at the City University of New York.