As Biden meets with European allies, possibility of another Trump term hangs over their talks

BERLIN: Even in Germany, it's hard for President Joe Biden to escape the topic of Donald Trump.

The U.S. president meets Friday with European allies for closed-door conversations about Russia's war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East. But with the U.S. presidential election just weeks away and the race extremely tight, there are worries that a Trump victory could upset the relationships that Biden is hoping to pass on to Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.

Trump, the Republican nominee, has an appetite for tariffing key U.S. security partners. He's expressed indifference to the security of Ukraine, refusing to say during a presidential debate if he wants the U.S. ally to win its war against Russia. He's voiced doubts about coming to the defense of NATO members if they come under attack.

Speaking aboard Air Force One on the way to Berlin, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan rejected the notion that Biden wants to “Trump-proof” U.S. foreign policy, because of the political implications of that term. But Sullivan's stated goals seem designed to thwart efforts by a potential Trump administration to stop military aid to Ukraine after more than two years of fighting.

“What the president is trying to do is to make our commitment to Ukraine sustainable and institutionalized for the long term,” Sullivan said. “And every other ally agreed that that was the responsible thing to do.”

But Sullivan cautioned that Biden ultimately can only speak for himself, not what his potential successor might do.

“What President Biden can do is what he's done for four years, which is lay out his vision of America's place in the world and point the way forward based on what he thinks are in America's national security interests and in the interests of our close allies,” Sullivan said. “Beyond that, he can't speak for anyone else and doesn't intend to.”

Trump has said his approach will help the U.S. economy and prevent foreign countries from taking advantage of the United States. He maintains that if he were still president, Russia would never have invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Hamas would never have attacked Israel in 2023.

“I will end the war in Ukraine, stop the chaos in the Middle East, and prevent World War III,” he said at a recent rally in Georgia. “I can do that.”

At home, the president has verbally tussled with Trump over falsehoods tied to the government's relief efforts after hurricanes Helene and Milton, with Biden saying the willingness of Trump and his allies to spread misinformation was “un-American.”

Harris, for her part, has voiced strong backing for Ukraine and tracks with Biden on support for Israel, while placing particular emphasis on the need to relieve the suffering of Palestinian civilians whose lives have been upended by the Hamas war.

Biden has long said that his message to foreign leaders is that “America is back” and engaged with allies after Trump's time in office. But the U.S. president recalled being met with skepticism: “The comment that I hear most of all from them is they say, We see America is back but for how long? But for how long?'”

Biden did not want his term to end without visiting the German capital of Berlin, after having been to visit other key allies such as Japan, South Korea, France, India, the United Kingdom, Poland and Ukraine.

He will start his Friday by going to Bellevue Palace and meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Biden is then slated to receive Germany's Order of Merit, an honor that was also bestowed on former U.S. President George H.W. Bush for his support of German reunification.

Biden will then meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the head of Germany's government. Biden and Scholz will later meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer before the U.S. president jets home late Friday afternoon.

Biden and Scholz plan to discuss next steps in Ukraine and developments in Israel and Gaza after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. They also intend to touch on Lebanon and Iran, and coordinate their approaches to China as well as their respective industrial and innovation strategies. The pair are also set to talk about the development of artificial intelligence and renewable energy resources.

While Biden wants to use the trip to emphasize the importance of democratic values, he has no plans to hold a news conference to answer questions from reporters. Sullivan pushed back against the idea that a news conference would reflect democratic values after reporters raised the subject with him aboard Air Force One.

“I mean, honestly, I think invoking democracy and suggesting that President Biden is somehow insufficiently committed to it because of the structure of his press engagement on one day in Germany is a bit ludicrous,” Sullivan said.