After the 911 attack s on America in New York and Washington DC..
As they have in World Wars and the Middle East?
Allied countries from Europe rushed to provide support and military troops to work with the America….
There are various connections with Europe on everything from commerce to military and intelligence sharing…..
For the last two years though?
America’s government has been led by a NYC Real Estate guy who doesn’t give a damn about anything , except himself…
Donald Trump has made plain that he’d only work with Europe on ANYTHING if they pay for that help….
So?
It should NOT have surprised Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence that at a recent meeting with European leaders , he Pence, was met with cold silence after lecturing the leaders….
And?
When Joe Biden stepped up to talk to the leaders after Pence?
The leaders broke out their smiles and one could understand that Europe ?
If it could vote?
Would elect the former Vice President to lead the America they had worked with until 2 year ago….
They will have to wait…..
US Vice-President Mike Pence, who attempted to build a convincing case for President Trump as the leader who was galvanising the western alliance to face new challenges.
For a time he seemed to be presenting the “glass half-full” case; praising, for example, increased defence spending among many European Nato countries. But inevitably he returned to the issues that divide many European capitals from Washington.
Just as in his recent Warsaw speech, he condemned the EU once again for seeking, in his view, to undermine sanctions against Iran. He urged the Europeans to walk away from the nuclear agreement with Tehran.
He criticised those Europeans who are still going ahead with the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia that bypasses Ukraine. Implicitly, his sights were on Germany.
How different then when the veteran Democratic politician and former Vice-President Joe Biden came to the podium.
He was introduced by an almost gushing Nicholas Burns – the former senior US diplomat (and no supporter of Mr Trump) – who mused (to rapturous applause) on how nice it would be if the US had a leader who, “rather than embracing Kim Jong-un or Victor Orban would have embraced our true friend Angela Merkel”.
Listening to Mr Biden’s speech, I searched for hints as to whether he would make a run for the White House. He was certainly a candidate for many people in the room….
image …Pence Merkel….Matthias Schrader/Associated Press
image…Biden….Reuters