G7 Summit shows Biden’s presidency is a return to old-school Washington ways
IT was a recent headline in The New Yorker magazine that tried but perhaps failed to hit the nail on the head.
“For Biden, Trump is an easy act to follow,” it read, appearing just around the time that President Joe Biden was settling down for a photo opportunity with Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of the G7 Summit in Cornwall.
Almost moments after Biden had landed in the UK, the US president was keen to get his message out and reassure his allies that his presidency is a very different kind of beast from that of his predecessor.
You know me, recognise my values, you can trust America was Biden’s signature theme.
“The United States is back, and the democracies of the world are standing together to tackle the toughest challenges,” he told US troops stationed in England. “I believe we’re at an inflection point in world history.”
Certainly, there is no shortage of challenges around that the US and its democratic European allies might have a mind to take a common stand on.
Russia, China, and climate change are the most glaringly obvious beyond the coronavirus pandemic.
But when it comes to Europe, will Trump be as easy an act for Biden to follow as The New Yorker headline suggests?
On the face of it certainly what these two presidents and their respective administrations represent are chalk and cheese. But two factors are worth considering here.
The first is that Donald Trump, in his wake, left behind an awful lot of scorched earth in terms of international diplomacy, bipartisan relations, and alliances.
The second is that what we have seen so far in terms of a Biden administration foreign policy is not that far removed from the old-school Washington way of doing things even if the global diplomatic landscape has been refashioned over these past few years.
The question then is whether Europe is ready once again to embrace that past US way of doing international business and might there still be some lingering concerns over America’s reliability after Trump’s bull in a china shop approach?
If a few polls are anything to go by, then many Europeans, for example, now believe that when it comes to security, their Continent needs to start looking out for itself.
Hearing Boris Johnson speak of the alliance between the US and UK as an “indestructible relationship” is one thing but do Brussels, Berlin, Paris and elsewhere in Europe share such a view?
Putting this into context with just a hint of tongue in cheek, online magazine Politico the other day
America is back again holding out its arms to Europe. But jilted before, some folk might just find it hard to kiss and make up
summed up how close Biden and Europe are as follows: “Are you splurging cash on defence, like a good Nato ally? Great move, you made Biden’s day. Have you gone ahead with a gas pipeline from Russia the US opposes? That will make for some awkward conversations. And if you’re one of those countries that would have voted for Trump over Biden, don’t complain when the new guy gives you the stink eye.”
Yes, America is back again holding out its arms to Europe. But jilted once before, some folk might just find it hard to kiss and make up.