The News
In the hours after the highly-anticipated presidential debate between US Vice President Kamala Harris and former US President Donald Trump, world leaders, diplomats, and governments offered their takes on the two candidates, with many agreeing that of the two, Harris had the better night.
While Germany pushed back on some of Trump’s claims about their country, the Kremlin appeared unhappy with both candidates’ remarks, while China refrained from directly commenting, with an official suggesting Beijing didn’t want to get involved.
The View From Russia
Russian officials appeared to show disdain for both candidates following the debate, with The Washington Post quoting Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as comparing them to a pair of boxers sparring on board the Titanic: “What do you think? Who of the two won? And let’s remember it’s all happening on the Titanic. Who won? Does it mean anything? There’s only 15 minutes left until the iceberg.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a news conference that Moscow disagreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name being wielded as an “instrument in the US domestic political struggle,” and added that “The US as a whole, no matter which party the candidates are from, maintains a negative attitude, an unfriendly attitude towards our country.”
The View From China
Chinese officials largely refrained from commenting directly on the debate, seemingly out of concern of being accused of interfering in the US election , The Washington Post reported, however speaking at a daily news briefing, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said China would not comment on “US domestic politics” as Beijing is “opposed to making China an issue in US elections as well.”
The View From Hungary
European diplomats and Hungarian lawmakers took note of Donald Trump’s praise of populist far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Zoltán Kovács, Hungarian Secretary of State for International Communication, shared the Republican candidate’s words about Orbán in a post on X with a handshake emoji, a tacit acknowledgment of Trump’s friendly posture.
“Ironically, I don’t think this alliance will help Orbán or Trump,” one European diplomat told The Guardian. “It just shows how disconnected Trump is. No one in the US knows who this Hungarian politician is.”
The View From Germany
Following Donald Trump’s comments on German energy policies, the country’s Foreign Office stated in a post on X that: “Like it or not: Germany’s energy system is fully operational, with more than 50% renewables. And we are shutting down — not building — coal & nuclear plants. Coal will be off the grid by 2038 at the latest. PS: We also don’t eat cats and dogs.”
Separately, German lawmaker and chair of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee Michael Roth said Harris had succeeded in making Trump seem “like an aging incumbent, old, angry and confused.”
Notable
- Global media reactions to the debate focused on the Israel-Hamas war, Trump’s false claims about immigrants eating pets, and Harris’ vow to reinstate abortion rights.
- Kamala Harris pulled off a strategy to bait Trump into a debate on her terms, Semafor’s David Weigel wrote.