Officials overseas have been monitoring the US presidential election, with some expressing support for one of the candidates, while others warned of a full-blown political crisis.
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer noted that “the battle for the legitimacy of the result” has begun. “It is a very explosive situation,” she told public broadcaster ZDF, adding that the events in the US “can lead to a constitution crisis.”
On election night, Trump claimed that there were widespread attempts to “disenfranchise” his supporters and threatened to appeal to the Supreme Court to halt “all voting.” German Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the vote count should continue so that the democratic procedures are carried out “in full.”
The Chair of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee, Norbert Roettgen, wrote on social media that Berlin is “not set to work with Trump for four more years,” and his re-election would “fundamentally challenge us in a way for which we are not yet prepared.” He also said that while “many had expected a clear victory for Biden… this scenario is now off the table.”
In a similar vein, London Mayor Sadiq Khan wished Biden good luck. “We’re rooting for you,” he tweeted, adding that “we’ve seen people come together across the globe to fight for a better future.”
“We can’t win that fight without America,” he wrote.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, meanwhile, told Sky News that British-American relations are “in great shape” and will “go from strength-to-strength with whichever candidate wins the election.” In an interview with the BBC, Raab confirmed that he is watching the vote “with great interest,” but declined to comment on Trump’s allegations of election fraud.
Marine Le Pen, the head of France’s main right-wing party, the National Rally, argued that Trump’s re-election would be “better for France.” She praised Trump for promoting “the comeback of patriotism, borders and sovereignty.”
Beijing did not endorse either candidate. Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin issued a short statement, saying the election is a US domestic affair and China “has no position on it.”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that for Tehran, “the individual and the party are not important,” what matters are the concrete policies adopted by the US government.
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