South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
World leaders congratulate Biden and Harris on victory
Although President Donald Trump wasn’t conceding defeat, world leaders swiftly congratulated presumptive Presidentelect Joe Biden for his election victory Saturday and expressed hope that the new White House will prioritize the fight against climate change.
Relief was a common theme expressed in many parts of the world to the news that Trump’s reelection bid failed.
“Welcome back America!” tweeted the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
Congratulations poured in for Biden from world capitals, including in nations governed by leaders who got along with Trump, essentially ignoring his claims that the divisive election racewasn’t over.
“The Americans have chosen their President. Congratulations @ JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris! We have a lot to do to overcome today’s challenges. Let’s work together!” tweeted French President EmmanuelMacron.
Other leaders who sent congratulations included Germany’s Chancellor AngelaMerkel, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who’d been known for public displays of bonhomie with Trump, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a Trump ally.
Hailing Biden’s victory and the “historic achievement” of Kamala Harris’s election as the first Black female vice president, Johnson said he looked forward to “working closely together on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security.”
Cascading around the globe on social media and
live news broadcasts, word of the projected victory in Pennsylvania that pushed President Barack Obama’s former vice president past the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes needed to take over the Oval Office sparked cheers in a Rome coffee bar and celebrations elsewhere.
A city official in Berlin said, “After the birth of my son, the election of Joe Biden is by far the best news of this year.”
“Everything won’t get betterovernight, butTrump is finally gone!” tweeted the official, Sawsan Chebli.
India’s prime minister posted a photo of himself with Biden and sent congratulations for “your spectacular victory!”
“I look forward to working closely together once again to take India-US relations to greater heights,” Modi said.
He also congratulated Vice President-elect Harris in a separate tweet for her “pathbreaking” success and said her win is a “matter of immense pride” for all Indian Americans.
Her election struck an immediate chord internationally.
“It makes us proud that
the first woman to serve as vice president of the USA traces her roots to India,” said the leader of India’s opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi.
Harris’s late mother was from India. Harris gave nods to her Indian heritage throughout the campaign.
“She will bean incredible example and important role model for young girls throughout the world, showing them girls and boys enjoy the same rights and opportunities,” Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo said.
Western allies quickly looked forward to a fresh start with a new administration inWashington.
“We’re looking forward to working with the next U.S. government,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted.“Wewant to work in our cooperation for a new trans-Atlantic beginning, aNew Deal.”
Italy’s foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, closed out his tweeted message of congratulations with Italian andU.S. flags.
“Ready to keep onworking to make our relations ever stronger in defense of peace and freedom,” he said.