While taking questions Thursday in Berlin, President Obama appeared to acknowledge that his endorsements may not help abroad. Obama was speaking about German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s re-election campaign, with the next German federal election expected to take place in the second half of 2017.
“If I were here and I were German, and I had a vote, I might support her,” Obama said with a smile, prompting laughter from the gathered press. “I don’t know whether that hurts or helps.”
That’s a long fall from candidate Obama, who gave a July 2008 speech in Berlin that drew more than 200,000 people.
Still, Obama remains popular in Europe, with more than four-in-five Germans and French saying they are confident he will “do the right thing regarding world affairs.”
That didn’t help Obama with Brexit, however. Despite 79 percent of the United Kingdom showing confidence in Obama, he failed to help the “Remain” campaign get over the top. He traveled to the U.K. in April and threatened to put the U.K. “in the back of the queue” for trade deals if they voted to leave the European Union. Despite that, the “Leave” campaign narrowly won with 52 percent of the vote.
Perhaps that debacle is what led Obama to question whether his endorsements help or hurt foreign leaders.
Jason Russell is the contributors editor for the Washington Examiner.
