Joe Biden Win Forces the World’s Tyrants into a Stunned Silence
The global congratulations for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ historic win over President Donald Trump ranged from leader’s expressing their delight and relief to humor—like the Australian newspaper that ran the headline “Phew,” or the cheeky London Sunday Times with its play on Trump’s criticism of the former vice president: “Sleepy Joe Wakes up America.” London’s Madame Tussaud’s wax museum wasted no time in changing Trump’s presidential red tie and suit to a purple golfing outfit.
But many others who had banked on a Trump re-election have remained silent, including Russian president Vladimir Putin, Chinese president Xi Jinping, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brazilian president Jair Bolsanaro and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who had called Biden a “low-IQ individual” who is “seized by ambition for power.” Nor has the world heard from the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who has benefitted from Trump’s ambivalence over condemning him for his involvement in the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would wait to congratulate the president elect until Trump’s legal challenges are played out. “We don’t want to be reckless,” he said Sunday.