CNN :
President Joe Biden’s dismal showing at the CNN presidential debate against former President Donald Trump resonated around the world, with foreign diplomats expressing shock and concern while raising questions about the implications for a consequential US election that could upend the foreign policy status-quo should Trump be elected again.
“Hard to watch” is how multiple foreign diplomats described Thursday night’s debate between Biden and Trump to CNN.
The overwhelming sentiment among more than half a dozen diplomats from Europe, the Middle East and Asia whom CNN spoke to was that it was “a bad night for Biden,” as one European diplomat put it.
“It is a sad reality that Biden is old, and he is getting older. We saw it. I had difficulties understanding what he was saying, and I understand English pretty well,” said a second European diplomat.
“Trump ate him alive,” said an Arab diplomat.
“I was shell-shocked. I could not believe my eyes,” an Asian diplomat said of Biden’s performance.
Biden’s debate flop was front-page news across Europe, with left- and right-leaning newspapers excoriating the president – even in France, where the country has its own elections coming up this weekend.
The president’s debate performance also compounded already pronounced concerns about the policies Trump would likely enact if he wins in November. Trump on Thursday once again displayed his isolationist tendencies and his NATO-skeptic worldview that often alarmed US allies during his first presidential term. At the debate, Trump questioned continuing to fund Ukraine’s war against Russia and falsely claimed that the US had given more in aid to Ukraine than all other European countries put together.
Trump even suggested that he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about his “dream” of invading Ukraine. He also attacked Biden over the Afghanistan withdrawal and argued it was the reason Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“When Putin saw that, he said, you know what, I think we’re going to go in and maybe take my – this was his dream. I talked to him about it, his dream. The difference is he never would have invaded Ukraine. Never,” Trump said.
‘If they can change the horse’
Biden’s showing Thursday did not make the diplomats CNN spoke to question his ability to serve as commander in chief at this moment, with many noting that he has a good team working with him. But it led some to question 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 screwed up his succession by passing the baton to his feckless son Commudos (He, from the Gladiator). Whose disastrous role started Rome’s decline. It’s important to manage one’s ride into the sunset,” he wrote.
Another Polish diplomat didn’t mince their words, calling Biden’s performance “a horror, what a car crash.”
Post-debate, it wasn’t just Democrats raising the prospect of replacing Biden on the ticket for November – foreign diplomats were also wondering whether Democrats could turn to a plan B.