Biden's shaky debate has overseas allies bracing for Trump return (updated)
28/06/2024 09:57
(Adds global newspaper reaction, comments from former prime
ministers of Italy and Belgium)
By David Dolan and Heekyong Yang
TOKYO/SEOUL, June 28 (Reuters) - Joe Biden's shaky
performance in the U.S. presidential debate drew stunned global
reactions on Friday, prompting public calls for him to step
aside and likely leaving some of America's closest allies
steeling for Donald Trump's return.
Biden's supporters had hoped Thursday's debate would erase
worries that he was too old to serve but footage of the
president sounding hoarse and stumbling over his words boosted
Trump, said politicians, analysts and investors.
Global newspapers were also damning. France's Le Monde
compared Biden to a shipwreck. Britain's left-leaning Daily
Mirror called his performance a "gaffe-strewn nightmare".
Germany's Bild newspaper ran with "Good night, Joe!" and the
Sydney Morning Herald said "Trump monstered Biden. The Democrats
can't win with Joe."
"Joe Biden can't do it," said Matteo Renzi, a centrist who
was close to the Democrats while serving as Italy's prime
minister.
Renzi said on X that Biden had served the United States with
honour, adding: "He doesn't deserve an inglorious ending, he
doesn't deserve one. Changing horses is a duty for everyone."
For Japan and South Korea, among the closest U.S. allies in
Asia, relations with Trump's administration were at times
strained by his demands for more payments towards military
assistance and by trade tensions.
Countries including Japan and Germany have started laying
the groundwork for a possible Trump return as his campaign
gathered steam.
"Mr Trump didn't win but Mr Biden might have imploded,"
said Kunihiko Miyake, a Japanese former diplomat and now
research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies, a
think tank.
"Unlike eight years ago, we are much more prepared, as are
other European and Asian allies. Still, Mr Trump is
unpredictable."
Peter Lee, research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy
Studies in Seoul, said he expected Trump to be "very tough"
second time around in pressuring allies to increase defence
spending.
As president, Trump started a tariff war with China, and has
floated tariffs of 60% or higher on all Chinese goods if he wins
the Nov. 5 election.
Overseas firms dependent on U.S. markets, such as
automakers, would be wary of the heightened possibility of
Trump's return given the "myriad" of tariff-related policies he
imposed during his previous term, said Lee Jae-il, analyst at
Eugene Investment & Securities.
Stephen Lee, chief economist at Meritz Securities in Seoul,
said Trump "might not just target China but impose tariffs
against other countries as well under the concept of American
exceptionalism."
WAR IN UKRAINE
In Europe, Trump's criticisms of NATO and demands that other
members pay more dominated his previous administration. His
scepticism towards NATO is causing further anxiety as Russia's
war in Ukraine continues.
"American democracy killed before our eyes by gerontocracy!"
said Guy Verhofstadt, a member of the European parliament and a
former prime minister of Belgium who posted pictures of Biden
and Trump on X.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz previously cheered on Biden's
prospects for re-election, but a senior defence figure in the
ruling coalition lamented Biden's performance and urged
Democrats to find another candidate.
"The fact that a man like Trump could become president again
because the Democrats are unable to put up a strong candidate
against him would be a historic tragedy that the whole world
would feel," Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, of the liberal FDP
party, told the Rheinische Post paper.
A spokesperson for Scholz did not comment on the specifics
of the debate, but said the chancellor valued Biden highly and
had never spoken to Trump as their terms did not overlap.
During the debate, Trump accused Biden of not standing up to
China on trade. He also said China's Xi Jinping, North Korea's
Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin "don't respect" Biden
and that he was driving the country "into World War Three".
Biden retorted by saying Trump's tariff proposals would
result in higher costs for American consumers, and that he
"cuddles up" to the likes of Kim and Putin.
Putin has said it made little difference to Russia who was
in the White House. On Friday, the Kremlin declined comment on
what it said was an internal U.S. matter.
Keir Starmer, leader of the British Labour party that leads
polls before a July 4 election, said Britain's relationship with
the U.S. was strong and "above the individuals."
In Sydney, several Australian officials and experts had
attended a workshop titled "Trump 2.0" as the debate was aired.
"The overwhelming feeling from today is that it was a
disaster for Biden," said Peter Dean, a professor at the United
States Studies Centre in Sydney who was at the workshop.
"The mood has changed considerably after the debate and the
general view is that if you weren't preparing for a Trump 2.0
then that is the smart play and the smart move now."
(Reporting by David Dolan and Tim Kelly in Tokyo, Heekyong
Yang, Hyunsu Yim and Jihoon Lee in Seoul and Lewis Jackson in
Sydney, Friederike Heine in Berlin, Crispian Balmer in Rome,
Sarah Young in London; Writing by John Geddie and Matthias
Williams; Editing by Miral Fahmy, Alex Richardson and Timothy
Heritage)
((John.Geddie@thomsonreuters.com; +81 80 7264 2833;))