The “sad” appearance of the US president Joe Biden in the debate against the former American president Donald Trump reverberated around the world, with foreign diplomats expressing strong concern.
At the same time, they raised questions about the implications for a subsequent US election dispute that could change the foreign policy status quo if Trump is re-elected.
“It was hard to watch,” several foreign diplomats told CNN about Thursday night’s debate between Biden and Trump.
It was a bad night
The overwhelming feeling among diplomats in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, according to a CNN report, was that it was “a bad night for Biden,” as one European diplomat put it.
“It’s a sad reality that Biden is old and getting older. We’ve seen that. I had difficulty understanding what he was saying and I understand English very well” said a second European diplomat.
“Trump ate him alive,” said an Arab diplomat.
“I was shocked. I couldn’t believe my eyes,” said an Asian diplomat.
Biden’s failure in the debate made headlines across Europe, with left-wing and right-wing newspapers criticizing the president.
Strong concerns about the policies Trump will implement
The president’s debate performance also raised already-deep concerns about the policies Trump is likely to implement if he wins in November.
Anti-NATO
Trump on Thursday once again displayed his isolationist tendencies and his NATO-skeptical worldview, which often rattled US allies during his first term as president.
In the debate, Trump questioned the continuity of his financing Ukraine War against Russia and claimed – falsely – that the The US has given more aid to Ukraine than all other European countries combined.
Trump even insinuated that he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about his “dream” of invading Ukraine.
Ukraine and Putin
He also attacked Biden for withdrawing from Afghanistan and claimed that this was the reason Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“When Putin saw this, he said, you know what, I think we’re going to go in and maybe we’re going to get it — that was his dream. I told him about it, his dream. The difference is he would never have invaded Ukraine. Never,” Trump said.
A Ukrainian politician told CNN he found Trump’s statements about the war in Ukraine “disturbing.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorsky andwrote on social media that Biden will now have to responsibly manage a succession plan.
“Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor, but he botched his succession by handing the baton to his incompetent son, Commodus (He, of Monomachus). Whose destructive role began the decline of Rome. It is important to manage the ride until the sunset,” he wrote.
Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor, but he ruined his succession by passing the baton to his irresponsible son, Commodus (He, from Gladiator).
Whose disastrous government began the decline of Rome.
It is important to manage the tour until sunset.– Radek Sikorski (@radeksikorski) June 28, 2024
Although a second Polish diplomat did not mince words, characterizing Biden’s appearance “horror and car accident”.
After the debate, it wasn’t just Democrats who floated the prospect of replacing Biden on the November ballot — foreign diplomats also wondered whether Democrats could resort to a Plan B.
But like many Americans, diplomats woke up on Friday I’m not sure what could be done.
Some of them are reaching out to contacts in the US to get a sense of the likelihood of Democrats dropping Biden.
The problem is that there is no strategy
Diplomats were not surprised by Trump’s foreign policy comments during the debate – with one calling them “the same old recipe” – but added that they were even more concerned about the its lack of engagement with Ukraine and what this could mean for European security.
Other diplomats also noted that Trump’s comments on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas will likely hurt him among Arab-American voters.
Still, despite Trump’s amplification of long-standing issues, there was a real sense of unease about Biden’s performance and about what this could mean for his chances in November.
Biden’s stumbles in the Atlanta debate touched a nerve across the continent.
No nation has been immune to concerns about Biden’s performance.
Happy Moscow
But while much of the European media seemed shocked, the Russian media were positively delighted.
Moscow’s state broadcaster Russia 1 satirized Biden’s debate performance.
The show’s host, Olga Skabeeva, laughing, congratulated him for not falling and then criticized him for what she called a 20-second freeze, saying he had trouble remembering who and where he was.
Putin’s spokesman said the Russian leader did not stay up late to watch the debate and that it was “not on the list of the main issues on (Putin’s) agenda.”
The fact that Russian television parodied Biden immediately after the debate probably reflects the Russian president’s mood, possibly driven by the fact that Trump, who has criticized NATO, suggested cutting funding to Ukraine and said there will be peace in Ukraine before the end of the year.
However, Trump’s re-election is the last thing most European leaders want, with people seeing him as much more dangerous now than when he left office.