A chorus of Western allies announced its congratulations for Joe Biden after media networks declared him the president-elect as vote tallies came in despite President Trump’s refusal to concede.
“I warmly welcome the election of Joe Biden as the next President of the United States,” North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Saturday.
Stoltenberg has shepherded the trans-Atlantic alliance through disputes over defense spending throughout Trump’s presidency, which began under the shadow of his suggestion that NATO is “obsolete.” The civilian chief of the security bloc has credited Trump with spurring European nations to increase spending on their own defense, but the former Norwegian prime minister and other European leaders showed themselves willing Saturday to set aside Trump’s insistence that he has not lost the election.
“I know Mr. Biden as a strong supporter of NATO and the trans-Atlantic relationship,” Stoltenberg said. “I look forward to working very closely with President-elect Biden, Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, and the new administration to further strengthen the bond between North America and Europe.”
The president maintained that such congratulations are premature.
“Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor,” Trump said Saturday as his team prepared lawsuits challenging whether election regulations were followed appropriately.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed Stoltenberg’s enthusiastic note after years of a publicly frosty relationship with Trump.
“I look forward to future cooperation with President Biden,” she said Saturday. ”Our trans-Atlantic friendship is irreplaceable if we are to master the great challenges of our time.”
Trump has flogged Merkel from the early days of his presidential campaign, while applauding the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab gestured toward the fact that Trump “fought hard” during the 2020 campaign but nonetheless welcomed Biden’s administration.
“My congratulations to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on winning this election, with more votes than any candidate in U.S. history,” Raab said. “We’re looking forward to working with the new administration on all of our shared interests, from tackling COVID-19 to counterterrorism, and collaborating closely through our presidencies of COP26 and the G-7 next year. The friendship between the U.K. and U.S. has always been a force for good in the world.”
