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Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Failure to admit defeat will not help Trump’s legacy as president, US President-elect Joe Biden is sure. That doesn’t change anything in your plans. Above all, he wants to repair the broken relationship with the EU, as the first phone calls with Merkel & Co. show.
The president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, sees the lack of recognition of his electoral victory by the outgoing American government as an obstacle in preparing for his presidency. “I just think, frankly, it’s embarrassing,” Biden told a Wilmington news conference that Donald Trump will not admit defeat.
“How can I say that tactfully? I don’t think it will help the president’s legacy.” Biden claimed, however, that there was nothing that could slow down the work of his team in the transition process that has now begun until the inauguration on January 20. “We will do exactly what we would do if he admitted defeat and said we won what we did.” Biden announced that he could name the first candidates to his cabinet before Thanksgiving on November 26.
The US president-elect also called European heads of state today, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “The Chancellor expressed the wish for close and trusting future cooperation,” said government spokesman Steffen Seibert.
Desire for close cooperation
Merkel and Biden agreed “that transatlantic cooperation is of great importance in view of the multitude of global challenges.” In the phone call with Macron, the issues of climate protection and the fight against terrorism were highlighted, as announced by the Elysee Palace in Paris. Johnson, in turn, wrote on Twitter that he was eager to strengthen the partnership with the United States and jointly address priorities such as promoting democracy and recovering from the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. According to his office, the prime minister invited Biden to the UN climate conference in Glasgow next year.
The three heads of government congratulated Biden on his electoral victory. They had already done so in statements in recent days and thus symbolically strengthened the back of the Democrats, because President-elect Donald Trump has so far refused to admit defeat.
Biden: “America is back”
Speaking to reporters about his phone calls with Chancellor Angela Merkel and other heads of state and government, Biden said: “First of all, I will let you know that America is back. We will get back to the game. It is not just about America.” . Democrat Biden was referring to current Republican Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy doctrine. Trump had threatened, among other things, the withdrawal of the United States from NATO and repeatedly attacked allies such as Germany.
Biden’s inauguration is scheduled for January 20. During the election campaign, he emphasized several times that he wanted to fight for better relations with America’s traditional allies. Last but not least, Trump had repeatedly alienated Germany and France, the German-American relationship having broken down more in recent years than in a long time.
Biden is also likely to make Europeans more responsible, for example in defense and China’s politics. However, Berlin and Paris expect a better tone and interaction between them. Johnson, in turn, will have to prepare for headwinds, according to observers, as Biden has raised concerns about the course of Brexit in Britain. Johnson seeks a trade agreement between his country and the United States. In the London communication about the phone call with Biden, there was no mention of Brexit.
