How the World Reacted to Joe Biden’s Presidential Win

Few U.S. elections in recent memory have dominated the international news cycle quite as persistently as this year’s runoff, largely thanks to the tense four-day wait until a conclusive result could be reached. 

Initially, the global response was simple: widespread confusion over the head-spinning complexities of America’s unique electoral college voting system. The delay in calling a winner served as an eye-opener around the world that the current formula for electing a U.S. president is arcane and needlessly complex. With international attention firmly fixed on this election, it will hopefully serve to add more momentum to overhauling the electoral college, an objective many Biden supporters are hoping to address over the next four years.

More importantly for long-standing allies of the U.S., however, today’s news came as a relief. The past four years have seen the world order endure unprecedented disruption thanks to Trump’s bullish and unpredictable approach to foreign policy, which often saw him guided by his personal sympathies for hostile dictators over the country’s best interests. 

“Our two countries are close friends, partners, and allies,” wrote Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter, one of the first to congratulate Biden and Harris on their win. “We share a relationship that’s unique on the world stage. I’m really looking forward to working together and building on that with you both.”

Another global leader quick to offer their well-wishes to the President-elect was Boris Johnson, Britain’s Prime Minister—hardly surprising, given the “special relationship” between the countries. Johnson’s congratulatory spirit, however, was measured at best. “The U.S. is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security,” he wrote in a statement released earlier this afternoon.

The muted response makes more sense when viewed in light of the crises the United Kingdom is already facing: namely, the impending deadline of Brexit. The extraction of the country from the European Union is currently set to take place on December 31st following multiple extensions, and looks likely to be hinged on a dreaded “no-deal” premise. 

The post How the World Reacted to Joe Biden’s Presidential Win appeared first on Honk Magazine.

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