An era ends. Joe Biden has embarked on his last trip as president with a visit to Germany, where he will meet this Friday with his main partners, his counterparts in that country, France and the United Kingdom. Absent from this farewell, the leaders of other large European economies, such as Italy and Spain. And in the background, the fear of European partners of a return of Donald Trump, now probable if the polls are taken into account.
In Biden’s agenda In this farewell to Europe are the security of Ukraine and ways to contain Russia, even with Trump, Vladimir Putin’s partner, in the White House. The American president will meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and then participate in a meeting of the so-called Quad, which includes the Frenchman Emmanuel Macron and the British Keith Starmer.
According to a senior White House official who briefed reporters on the trip, Biden will discuss with them Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky’s plan to win the Russian war. Zelensky had a call with Biden in which they discussed that plan. Among the highlights are the future invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, economic incentives for the West to invest in Ukrainian natural resources, and the use of Ukrainian troops to replace some NATO forces in Europe. Zelensky’s plan also includes the recovery of frozen Russian assets. Although Ukraine’s invitation is being debated within NATO, there is no consensus yet.
Strengthening the Alliance
After years of criticism from Trump for the low defense spending of NATO allies—especially Spain, which invests the least—Biden has strengthened the alliance, especially after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. Biden and US partners have firmly supported Zelensky, something he is not guaranteed with Trump. In a podcast interview, the former president and Republican candidate said this Thursday that the Ukrainian president is a “motorbike salesman”, someone who “should not have allowed that war to start.” The war, in fact, began because Putin invaded Ukraine with the aim of annexing the east of that country, something he has not achieved in the more than two years of war.
Biden should have gone to Germany a week ago, but the passage of Hurricane Milton through Florida prevented him from doing so, and he had to postpone his trip. He also planned to go to Angola, to fulfill a campaign promise to visit Africa at least once. That part of the trip has been cancelled.
After this trip, the president will remain in the US with a more limited agenda, since elections are held on November 5 and then a transition period begins that will be very different depending on who wins. The latest polls reflect a rise for Trump, who can comfortably win the decisive states.
At the end of September, Trump met with the Ukrainian president at Trump Tower in New York, his first face-to-face since 2019. Before starting the meeting, Trump, along with Zelensky, expressed that it was an “honor” to see him and mentioned that they had an “excellent relationship.” In addition, he added that he also maintained a “very good relationship” with the Russian president. According to a book published this week by acclaimed journalist Bob Woodward, Trump has maintained a close relationship with Putin since leaving the presidency, declaring this week: “Russia has never had a president they respected so much.” Trump has suggested several times that if he had been president, Russia would not have invaded Ukraine.
symbolic visit
Biden’s trip to Germany will also be loaded with symbolism. Initially it was going to be a summit on Ukraine at the US military base in Rammstein, but in the end it will be a state visit to Berlin. 20 heads of Government or State were going to be invited to that summit, but that has been cancelled. Biden’s team wants it to be a final message from this president to Putin, like the one Ronald Reagan made to visit the Berlin Wall and utter the words: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
Another issue to be discussed with European partners will be that of Israel. Biden has been more emphatic in his defense of this after the Hamas aggression last year, but has lost patience over the high number of civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip, more than 40,000.
Now that the Israeli Army has also killed Hamas leader Yahyah Sinwar, the US is seeking to join its partners in Europe in pressuring Benjamin Netanyahu to end the conflict.
#Biden #goodbye #allies #Trump #horizon
