While most are not airing this in public, US allies in Europe are uniformly dismayed and scared by the reality shock that was the cognitive decline of Jow Biden splashed for the world to see during the debate against Donald Trump — one SO BAD that Democrats are scrambling to replace the 81-year-old leader on the ticket.
The exception to the rule was the Polish new liberal government, which was exceptionally frank in addressing the issue.
Poland’s Foreign Minister took to X with an unmistakable – if thinly disguised – comment drawing from history: ‘It’s important to manage one’s ride into the sunset.’ Brutal.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also openly addressed the question.
Bloomberg reported:
“I was afraid of this, in the sense that it was to be expected that in a direct confrontation, in a debate, it would not be easy for President Biden,” Tusk told a briefing in Brussels on Friday after an EU leaders summit.
Do Democrats have to change their candidate? ‘They definitely have a problem’, he said. ‘These reactions are unequivocal’.”
Few other heads of state that were still in Brussels would address the issue.
“Keir Starmer, the opposition Labour leader who’s likely to become Britain’s new prime minister next week, declined to offer a view on Biden’s performance: ‘I don’t think me commentating on the American election is helpful’. Privately, however, Labour officials said the debate was alarming.”
But British tabloid The Sun had just one word at the top of its website on Friday: “JOE-MATOSED.”
Reaction from US adversaries Russia and China was low-key:
“Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggesting Vladimir Putin didn’t watch. ‘I don’t think you’d expect the president to set an alarm, wake up in the morning and watch the debate in the US’,” he said.”
Coverage in China was hostile to both candidates, but it surely bears mentioning that shares of a Chinese company whose local language name sounds like “Trump wins big” jumped by their daily limit during the debate.
But importantly, recently reelected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is said to prefer Trump.
“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is visiting Russia next month, is more comfortable with a Trump presidency, Indian officials said on condition of anonymity. They noted Biden’s lackluster performance, felt Trump was full of energy and are now watching to see if California Governor Gavin Newsom emerges as a replacement.”
During Biden’s term, Modi often showed his discomfort with Biden, see below:
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