The dismal performance of President Joe Biden in the CNN presidential debate with Donald Trump resonated around the world, with foreign diplomats expressing concerns about the potential consequences for the status quo of foreign policy if the Republican magnate were to be re-elected.
The sentiment among diplomats from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia who spoke with CNN was that it was “a bad night for Biden.”
“It’s a sad reality that Biden is aging. We saw it. I struggled to understand what he was saying and I understand English quite well,” said a European diplomat.
“Trump ate him alive,” was the comment of an Arab diplomat.
“I was shocked. I couldn’t believe my eyes,” noted an Asian diplomat regarding Biden’s performance.
Biden’s debate failure was front-page news across Europe, with several outlets criticizing the president—even in France, where the country has its own elections this weekend.
The president’s performance in the debates also heightened already intense concerns about the policies Trump is likely to implement if he wins in November. On Thursday, Trump once again showcased his skeptical worldview regarding NATO, which often worried U.S. allies during his first presidential term. In the debate, Trump questioned the continued funding of Ukraine’s war against Russia and claimed that the U.S. had given more aid to Ukraine than all other European countries combined.
Trump even suggested that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about his “dream” of invading Ukraine. He also attacked Biden for the withdrawal from Afghanistan, arguing that it was the reason Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.
A Ukrainian politician told CNN that he found Trump’s statements about the war in Ukraine “worrying.”
“We are very worried because, more or less, we understand what a Biden presidency means for Ukraine, and we really don’t know what a Trump presidency means for Ukraine,” Oleksii Goncharenko told CNN. “It could be very good, it could be very bad. We just don’t know. And that is definitely worrying.”
“If they can change the candidate”
Biden’s performance on Thursday did not make diplomats question his ability to serve as commander-in-chief at the moment, with many noting that he has a good team working with him.
However, some diplomats raised questions about how the Democratic Party will handle the issue.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski wrote on social media that Biden should now responsibly manage a succession plan.
“Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor, but he spoiled his succession by handing over to his unworthy son Commodus. The destructive role of whom started Rome’s decline,” he wrote.
Another Polish diplomat did not mince words, calling Biden’s performance “horrific.”
After the debate, it wasn’t just Democrats who raised the prospect of replacing Biden for November—foreign diplomats also wondered if the Democrats might turn to a plan B.
“If they can change the candidate, they should do it,” said a European diplomat. “If it were possible to call the governor of California and have Biden say, ‘You go, and I’ll step aside,’ that would be the right thing to do.”
Like many Americans, diplomats woke up on Friday uncertain about what could be done.
“There are many options being discussed, but we don’t see any that are obvious,” said the first European diplomat.
Some of them are reaching out to their U.S. contacts to get a sense of the likelihood that Democrats will move away from Biden.
“Some contacts in the U.S. say there has always been talk of replacing Biden, but now the doubts are out in the open. There’s fire on the roof,” said a third European diplomat. “They tell me that if the Democrats do this, they have to go with Kamala [Harris], because they can’t bypass a Black female vice president, but they wonder what that will do to their base. They think they could still lose.”
“The problem is there is no strategy”
Diplomats were not surprised by Trump’s foreign policy comments during the debate, but added that they are even more concerned about his lack of commitment to Ukraine and what that could mean for Europe’s security. Other diplomats also noted that Trump’s comments on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war would likely hurt him among Arab American voters.
“When he called Biden a Palestinian, that was bad. It was an insult to Palestinians—he lost Arab voters,” said the Arab diplomat. “He could have said he is Israel’s biggest supporter in many other ways.”
Russia’s Reaction
Unlike European diplomats, in Russia there seemed to be delight at the image Biden presented in the debate with Trump. The host of the Moscow state TV channel, Russia 1, criticized the American president for what she called a 20-second freeze, saying he had trouble remembering who and where he was, while other Russian media focused on Trump’s criticism of NATO, hinting at cutting funding for Ukraine, and saying there would be peace in Ukraine before the end of the year.
Putin’s spokesperson said the Russian leader did not stay up to watch the debate and that it “is not on the list of main agenda topics.”
