U.S. allies and enemies welcome President Joe Biden’s inauguration and bid farewell to President Donald Trump, who will leave for Florida on Wednesday and refuse to attend his successor’s swearing-in ceremony in Washington, DC.
Opponents and partners expect Biden to be more predictable than his predecessor, easier to work with and easier to read. Biden has vowed to revive multilateralism and repair the damage Trump has done to traditional American alliances; welcome news in Canada and Europe that have faced criticism from the outgoing government.
Germany was a preferred Trump target, and the president dismissed Europe’s most powerful country as ‘criminal’ with military spending, self-employment and his icy relationship with Chancellor Angela Merkel is well documented.
After his election, Merkel spoke to Biden and ‘expressed the wish for close and trusting future cooperation’.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Wednesday it was a “good day for democracy”. The position is largely ceremonial in Germany’s federal parliamentary republic, but Steinmeier nonetheless said he was “very relieved that Joe Biden will be inaugurated as president today and move into the White House.”
He added: “I know this feeling is shared by many people in Germany,” and said that the American system has endured “great tests” and “hostility” during Trump’s four years. According to him, Biden’s inauguration brings ‘the hope that the international community can work more closely and better together in the future to solve the great problems of our time.’
Steinmeier said his country was looking forward to “knowing that we have the US at our side again as an indispensable partner” on issues including the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, security issues, arms control and disarmament and many urgent conflicts across the country. world. “
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – who has been criticized at home for pleasing the Trump administration in hopes of a post-Brexit trade deal – said on Wednesday: ‘I warmly congratulate Joe Biden on his historic inauguration as the 46th President of the United States and looks forward to working closely with his new government as we defeat Covid and better build up the pandemic. ‘
Johnson said his government would work “hand in hand” with the incoming government to address a range of issues.
French President Emmanuel Macron had several clashes with Trump during his tenure, despite an early heat between the two. A liberal globalist, Macron, had little time for Trump’s nationalist populism. Macron said Tuesday he hopes the Biden administration will maintain the foreign military deployments that Trump has so often fought against.
“I am confident that the new administration will have to make key decisions in the coming weeks that will indicate greater commitment and awareness in the fight against terrorism,” he said, noting the ongoing violence in Syria and Iraq.
NATO was another Trump target, and the president has repeatedly – and wrongly – claimed that the US is being ‘broken down’ by its allies in order to meet the majority of the alliance’s military obligations.
He was more justified in his complaints that most members had not yet met the 2 percent of GDP spending target for military spending – although they had to do so by 2024 – and allegedly considered the U.S. several times at the to withdraw treaty.
NATO officials and member states have largely decided to deplore Trump on these issues, although Macron has bluntly stated that he has rejected Trump’s claim to credit for the rising military spending on the alliance. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly praised Trump for his commitment to NATO and his pressure on other countries to meet their military obligations.
On Tuesday, Stoltenberg tweeted that he was going to have dinner with President Michel of the European Council and Josep Borrell, foreign head of the European Union. “We look forward to working with President-elect @JoeBiden to further strengthen the ties between the #UnitedStates & #Europe, as we face global challenges that none of us can tackle alone,” Stoltenberg wrote .
EU leaders will rejoice at the back of Trump, who said the bloc “like China, was just smaller” in one of its many tirades against European trade practices.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told European politicians on Wednesday: “This new dawn in America is the moment we have been waiting for so long,” and Biden’s inauguration is described as “proven proof that Europe is back. after four long years a friend in the White House. ‘
“The United States is back, and Europe is ready to reconnect with an old and trusted partner to breathe new life into our cherished alliance,” she added.
Michel said transatlantic ties “have suffered greatly over the past four years” and said: “In these years the world has become more complex, less stable and less predictable.”
Michel said the differences between the US and the EU “will not magically disappear” and warned: “America seems to have changed and the way it is seen in Europe and the rest of the world has also changed.”
The American enemies also celebrated the last day of Trump’s presidency. In Iran – where the regime has survived increasingly harsh sanctions, assassinations, sabotage and diplomatic isolation – President Hassan Rouhani described Trump as a ‘tyrant’ and celebrated the ‘end of this man’s political life’.
In China, state media focused on the rifts that Trump exposed in American democracy. Global Times editor Hu Xijin slammed back recent US criticism of Beijing’s human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. “Your democracy at home needs strengthening,” Hu wrote.
China Daily wrote: “No matter how historians ultimately judge his presidency, the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday will have a place in American history just for what it puts an end to.
“The government’s quest for its power dreams to make America great again was nothing more than a disastrous ego journey,” the newspaper added.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said the Kremlin was not making any special preparations for the new government. “Nothing will change for Russia,” Dmitry Peskov said. “Russia will continue to live as it has for many hundreds of years, and will seek good relations with the United States.”
Peskov added: “If there will be corresponding reciprocal politics will depend on Mr Biden and his team.”
MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images / Getty