A key player in a potential Joe Biden administration has signalled that America will rebuild ties with both Europe and Nato if the Democrat wins the US presidency.
Following a difficult relationship with Mr Trump over the last four years, European leaders are also now making clear their disdain for him.
The once-strong transatlantic alliance could be rebuilt after the man seen as the front runner to become America’s top diplomatic envoy said there would be a substantial change in attitude under a Mr Biden presidency.
“He would re-engage and re-energise our alliances, particularly our special relationship with the UK,” Senator Chris Coons, a close ally of Mr Biden, told the BBC. “I also think the ways in which President Trump has strained the relationship and, in particular, the vital Nato relationship would get a fresh look.
“I would expect our alliances to be stronger and closer and more secure than they have ever been. I would fully expect Mr Biden to focus on democracy and open societies in the face of threats from Russia, China and Iran and from elsewhere in the world.”
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House/ Reuters -
A Republican observer, right, watches as Lehigh County workers count ballots in Allentown. AP -
A computer camera records the vote counting as a Lehigh County in Allentown, Pennsylvania. AP Photo -
Trump supporters attend a protest named 'Stop the Biden steal' demanding election transparency in Miami, Florida. EPA -
A worker prepares to take bags of ballots to be sorted and processed by the Los Angeles County Registrar. Keith Birmingham/The Orange County Register via AP -
Poll workers tabulate ballots inside the Maricopa County Elections Department during the 2020 Presidential election in Phoenix, Arizona. Bloomberg -
A poll worker tabulates ballots in Maricopa County. Bloomberg -
A quote is pictured on the marquee of the Sierra Madre Playhouse following the US presidential election in Sierra Madre, California. Reuters -
Lehigh County worker uses a scanner to count ballots. AP -
Supporters of President Trump rally outside the Fulton County Registration and Elections Department at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. EPA -
Pedestrians pass Twitter headquarters in San Francisco. AP Photo -
Supporters of President Donald Trump hold up a flag during a protest against the election results at the Maricopa County Elections Department office in Phoenix, Arizona. AFP -
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden removes his face mask to speak at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware. AP Photo -
Donald Trump Jr., right, smiles along with his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle prior to a news conference at Georgia Republican Party headquarters in Atlanta. AP Photo -
A worker carries ballots that are postmarked and mailed by the deadline on election day in Pomona, California. AP Photo -
Face masks with the image of Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden are displayed for sale at Times Square in New York City. Reuters -
Lori Gibson, of Atlanta, listens to a speech by President Donald Trump prior to a press conference with Donald Trump Jr., at Georgia Republican Party Headquarters. AP Photo -
US President Donald Trump speaks at the White House. Reuters -
U.S. President Donald Trump is reflected as he arrives to speak at the White House in Washington. Reuters -
Clerk Geraldine Hernandez looks over ballots for mistakes are processed by the Los Angeles County Registrar in Pomona, California. AP Photo -
Empty ballots that were mailed by the deadline on election day are processed. Keith Birmingham/The Orange County Register via AP
Mr Coons, the Delaware senator who is a front runner to become the US Secretary of State, also sounded a warning for Boris Johnson's hoped-for post-Brexit trade deal which had been progressing under Mr Trump.
He supported Mr Biden’s view that any UK trade deal with the EU should not affect the political process or security in Northern Ireland enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement.
“I would expect he [Mr Biden] would be concerned that the Good Friday accords are respected and protected and that the ways in which the UK-EU terms are negotiated doesn’t put at risk the stability of the border terms in Northern Ireland.”
Boris Johnson’s UK government, which potentially has to make up lost ground in establishing a good relationship with Mr Biden, avoided commenting on Mr Trump’s unsupported claims of a stolen election. Nadhim Zahawi, the business minister, said it would be “unwise for a British minister to comment on the great democratic processes of the United States of America”.
In an unprecedented move, several major US networks cut away from a live White House press conference featuring Mr Trump early on Friday, midway through a speech about how the election had been “rigged” over the postal voting system. Facebook has also put warnings on Mr Trump’s recent tweets and could remove his status as a “newsworthy individual” if he is no longer president.
The German foreign minister condemned the US President for pouring “oil on the fire” following his comments on alleged electoral fraud.
Heiko Mass was among the first European politicians to question Mr Trump’s view on the election. “America is more than a one-man show,” he said. “Anyone who continues to pour oil on the fire in a situation like this is acting irresponsibly.” He also told Germany’s Funke media group that it was important for everyone to keep a cool head until all results were in. “Decent losers are more important for the functioning of a democracy than radiant winners.”
Other Europeans have suggested that no matter what the election outcome, the continent has learnt to act independently of US policy under Mr Trump’s administration, including the adhering to the JCPOA nuclear agreement with Iran.
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A car driver holds a sign at Black Lives Matter plaza near the White House after Election Day in Washington, DC. Reuters -
An Oregon State Trooper hits a protester with his baton while dispersing a crowd of black bloc protesters in Portland. AFP -
Soldiers with the National Guard help local police disperse antifascist protesters following the US presidential elections in Portland, Oregon. EPA -
Minneapolis State Patrol arrest journalists and people protesting against racism and issues with the presidential election after they blocked interstate 94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP -
Demonstrators march on to highway I-94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP -
Police officers line up alongside interstate 94 blocked by protestors marching against racism and issues with the presidential election in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP -
Minneapolis State Patrol arrest journalists and people protesting against racism and issues with the presidential election after they blocked interstate 94 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP -
A woman pulls a child away from a protest crowd as it passes a downtown restaurant in Portland, Oregon. AFP -
Black bloc protesters pull a barrier into the street while running from police in Portland, Oregon. AFP -
Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria, left, is interrupted by a disgruntled member of the public during a press conference outside Clark County Election Department, in North Las Vegas. AFP -
People hold a "Remove Trump Pence Now" sign during a protest against racism and issues with the presidential election after in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP -
A speaker leads a crowd in chants in Portland, Oregon. AFP -
Pedestrians walk past a digital screen displaying a news report on the U.S. presidential election in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Bloomberg -
A man watches the U.S. Election live broadcasting at a bar on November 05, 2020 in Shanghai, China. Getty Images -
South Korean supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump hold flags near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. AP Photo -
Vietnamese souvenir seller Truong Thanh Duc, supporter of US President Donald Trump, shows images of the president at his shop in Hanoi, Vietnam. Reuters -
Medical workers look at a computer screen displaying the partial results of the US elections, at the intensive care unit for patients infected by Covid-19 of the university-affiliated hospital Cavale Blanche in Brest, western France. AFP -
A currency dealer monitors exchange rates as a screen shows results of the US presidential elections in a trading room at KEB Hana Bank in Seoul. AFP -
A cyclist wears a banner at Black Lives Matter plaza near the White House after Election Day in Washington, U.S., November 5, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
“We Europeans have realised that there are some issues on which we can disagree with Washington,” said Federica Mogherini, the former EU foreign policy chief. This is not the best option but it’s possible, and we have a role to play in any case as Europeans and sometimes, take the Iran deal, a life-saving role for international agreements.”
Should Mr Trump be re-elected, it would be a question of “damage control” for Europe, she told the Institute of International and European Affairs think tank. She added that while Mr Trump had damaged transatlantic trust, it had taught the EU a valuable lesson to be more independent.
That democratic process was drawn further into the mire after Donald Trump Jnr suggested that his father should “go to total war over this election”.
French media on Friday reported the US election as a “bewildering nervous breakdown” in the Liberation, while the conservative daily Le Figaro said America was “making a spectacle of itself”.
