With only a few months left in US President Joe Biden's term, he will embark on a farewell tour. He postponed his original visit due to Hurricane Milton, but was in Germany last week.
Biden became the first U.S. president since George H.W. Bush to receive the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who presented Biden with the award on Friday, called Biden a “beacon of democracy” and praised Biden’s “decades of dedication to the transatlantic alliance” and “the European He praised the most outstanding political leadership. Moments of Danger” and his “enduring moral example of service, integrity, and civility.”
The relationship between the United States and Europe, and especially the relationship between the United States and Germany, is important and important to Biden. The end of his presidency will mark the end of an era. But will he be the last president to cross the Atlantic?
“I think that’s a fair assessment,” Michelle Egan, a professor at American University in Washington and an expert on U.S.-Europe relations, told DW. “That’s probably due to his years of involvement through NATO, through the Munich Security Council, serving on the (U.S. Senate) Foreign Relations Committee and knowing many European leaders before he became president. .”
U.S.-German relations remained close and important during Joe Biden’s presidency Image: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture Alliance
What made Biden a transatlantic president?
Biden was born in 1942 and grew up in a country that helped rebuild West Germany after World War II. After the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, we saw West Germany become one of the United States’ most important partners in the Cold War.
The centre’s Peter Spalding said: “He has been in politics since 1972 and, at least in the field of foreign policy, his experience of the Cold War and the fact that Germany was at the center of that conflict gave him an early, clear sense of It was formed in ”. Study of the President and Congress (CSPC).
Biden's foreign policy experience was also significant when he served as vice president in President Barack Obama’s administration from 2009 to 2017.
“Obama had very limited knowledge of foreign policy,” Egan said. “That’s why Biden was ticketed. Biden had the connections, knowledge and briefing from his role in the Senate.”
He added that while Obama was very popular in Europe because he helped rebuild transatlantic relations after Bush took office, it was Biden who had an emotional connection to the continent.
Similarities between Germany and the United States
Under the Biden administration, Germany has become an important partner for the United States. Both countries are among Ukraine’s biggest supporters in the war against Russia, and are the ones most emphasizing Israel’s right to self-defense in the current Middle East conflict.
Egan noted that in addition to being in similar positions on the international stage, the two men face similar challenges domestically. “There are political rifts in both the United States and Germany,” she says.
In the United States, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party form two ideologically distinct camps that are bitterly opposed. In Germany, the rise of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) also highlights political divisions.
“Both countries are also grappling with border and border control issues,” Egan said.
Germany tightened immigration policies in August after a Syrian man was suspected of stabbing three people to death in the western German city of Solingen. This included controversial border controls on all borders, including those shared with other EU countries.
In the United States, Kamala Harris, the current vice president and Democratic presidential candidate, has repeatedly stumbled over immigration policy and security at the Mexican border, Egan said. At the beginning of his presidency, Biden effectively tasked Harris with tackling the root causes of migration from Central America. Biden’s predecessor, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, repeatedly criticized undocumented immigrants during his campaign, blaming them for many of America’s problems.
What is the real story of the U.S.-Mexico border wall?
To view this video, please enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.
The last president to cross the Atlantic?
Biden is also seen as the last great transatlantic president, as Germany becomes less and less important to U.S. foreign policy than before. CSPC analyst Spalding said that in the future Germany will no longer be able to rely on the United States as the defender of European security.
“Regardless of who the president becomes, the relationship between Germany and the US will be different in the future. The US is setting its course towards the Indo-Pacific and will be seen as a peer in China We need more expectations (…) for Germany to take on more responsibilities in and around Europe.
The article was originally written in German and published on October 17, ahead of Biden’s visit to Germany. Updated on October 21 to include remarks from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Harris’ immigration quota was also initially inaccurate due to a translation error. DW apologizes for the mistake.
