US Allies Sigh in Relief

Yesterday, just before noon Eastern Time, U.S. media called the election for President-elect Joe Biden. Cities across the country and around the world reacted in celebration to the news. Church bells rang in Paris and people across the U.K. set off fireworks to mark the occasion. I haven’t yet been able to find another election that received this kind of reaction from America’s allies. Though President Trump has yet to concede, and is in fact continuing to insist he actually won the election, world leaders began to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

The sentiment of our allies can be summed up in a tweet from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo: “Welcome back America!” Other leaders were slightly more diplomatic in their statements, but all expressed their excitement to work with the incoming Biden-Harris administration on a multilateral basis. A few organizations were especially relieved by the election results. The Director General of the WHO extended his congratulations and eagerness to work with the new administration. President-elect Biden has promised to reverse President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the WHO. The Secretary General of NATO specifically called out the President-elect’s dedication to the alliance in his statement. The feeling is mutual here in the U.S. A Reuters photographer yesterday captured a photo of a man celebrating Biden’s win at Black Lives Matter Plaza in D.C. with a NATO flag draped around his shoulders. A close ally of Trump’s Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to celebrate the election of Kamala Harris. Vice President-elect Harris’ mother immigrated from India at the age of 19, and her village is celebrating Harris’ election, calling her the pride of the village.

Other leaders who were closer to President Trump have held off on commenting. Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel waited much longer than other leaders and in his message did not refer to Biden as the President-elect, as he did in his statement on the Trump victory in 2016. He immediately followed his message to Biden with a message of gratitude to President Trump for his support of Israel and pro-Israel policies, including the recognition of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Palestinian leaders have a different view, with official Nabil Shaath telling Turkish media: “There was nothing worse than the Trump era. Good riddance.” Russia, China, Turkey, Brazil and others have not offered their congratulations to the new administration, though Putin was very quick to do so in 2016.

Another interesting note is that some world leaders appear to be pushing back on President Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud in their statements. French President Emmanuel Macron said “America has chosen its new president,” and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas welcomed “clear figures” that decided the election. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny congratulated Americans on “defining the new leadership in a free and fair election.” He went on to say, “this is a privilege which is not available to all countries.”

One notable exception is Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who falsely claimed Donald Trump won re-election after his 3AM speech on election night and has since doubled down. The Prime Minister has tweeted or retweeted hundreds of times in favor of Trump’s election, bashing President-elect Biden and amplifying Trump’s and other Republicans baseless claims of voter fraud and election fraud along with conspiracy theories. He has also echoed U.S. Republican complaints about social media “censorship” of these claims. This could make Slovenian-U.S. relations awkward come January 20, 2021.

Overall, it is clear America’s allies and adversaries recognize President-elect Biden’s win means a return to the foreign policy positions that have been more or less consistent since 1945: an emphasis on multilateralism and strong ties with our allies, a strong NATO to counter Russian aggression, and a warning for authoritarian regimes.