Many tangible successes can not be seen after Biden's Middle East trip.
There was little concrete action in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and he returned from Saudi Arabia with no promise of increased oil production.
The latter would have been an important campaign gift from the Saudi leadership ahead of the American congressional elections in the fall.
The only thing he can pin on his lapel is the civilian overflight rights for Israel that the kingdom is now granting.
Like Trump, Biden is still achieving the most in the rapprochement between Arab countries and Israel.
It is driven by a shared concern about Iran.
Leave no vacuum
Biden has laid out what the Middle East is all about by bluntly stating that he does not want to leave a vacuum for China or Russia or Iran to fill.
However, this has already happened in part, which was not least due to the withdrawal policy of his two predecessors.
Putin's visit to Tehran this week, his establishment in Syria and China's increased economic ties with the Gulf show that the new geopolitical race for the region is in full swing.
Biden has at least documented the American will not to give up in this competition.
As a democratic president, however, he will continue to have the problem that the autocrats in the region do not expect him to lecture on human rights, but rather to deliver realpolitik.