US President Donald Trump takes on rival Joe Biden in race for White House.
As of this press time, Biden has 8,748,555 electoral votes while Trump has 8,792729 votes, the count is too close to call.
The current event in the most powerful nation is now at the center of attention as the world watches.
For most of the allied countries such as Europe and Asia and even rival countries particularly Russia, China and Iran, bringing different perspective on how foreign policy will have to take depending on the outcome of the election.
Latest developments:
Commentators in China hope for a respite with a Democratic administration under Joe Biden but fear that whoever wins, the new U.S.-China rivalry started by President Trump might persist.
Pro-Kremlin media warn elections could lead to chaos and street fighting, predicting that Trump will be forced to retreat to his White House bunker after the vote.
Many European leaders are watching anxiously, fearing Trump would weaken or destroy NATO if reelected.
In Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made much of his close ties with Trump, analysts wonder if a Democratic win might weaken the Israeli leader’s long hold on power.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, mocked Trump for predicting fraud in his own country’s election, calling it the “ugly face of liberal democracy.”
The choice of a U.S. president is always a matter of global importance — to allies, rivals, trading partners, and the web of treaties and institutions that bind countries together. This time, however, the stakes are exceedingly high.
Over the past four years, President Trump has upended the principles that have guided U.S. foreign policy for decades, preferring a transactional, personality-driven approach to world affairs that has at times angered and unnerved some of America’s closest allies.
He has withdrawn the United States from multilateral agreements, including the Paris climate accord and Iran nuclear deal, and started several trade wars. He has restricted legal immigration to the United States and severely curtailed the number of refugees allowed into the country.
Trump knows the world is watching. “China wants me out, Iran wants me out, Germany wants me out, they all want me out,” he said at a campaign rally Saturday. “But here we are, right?”
If Joe Biden wins, the election will mark a crucial pivot for U.S. policy. He has said that one of his first acts as president would be to “get on the phone with the heads of state and say, ‘America’s back, you can count on us.”
Europe holds its breath, Russia warns of chaos
Russian hopes for a Trump victory were reflected in the commentaries of pro-Kremlin media. The prevailing theme in election coverage was that U.S. democracy is fraying, facing likely post-election violence, conflict and even civil war.
State-owned Vesti television focused on the construction of a fence around the White House and reported that Trump would probably spend the night after the election “in a bunker.”
Dmitry Kiselyov, speaking on the flagship weekly political program on state TV on Sunday, said the situation was “explosive” and that the struggle for power in Washington no longer followed any rules.
In Europe, where Trump is deeply unpopular in most countries, many worry that Trump could pull out of NATO if he is reelected, setting off a security revolution that would transform European societies with the need to rearm.
German leaders, mindful of their own historical experience of state-sanctioned violence, appear especially unsettled. “In the #USA we see that it is no longer just about competition.
“Hatred has found its way into the political system. There is no longer a center, only polarization,” tweeted the chairman of the German parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Norbert Röttgen.
“Never before has the European Union faced the risk of a failed election in the greatest power on the planet,” wrote Bernardo de Miguel, a correspondent for Spain’s El País newspaper.
In private, European leaders say that they are bracing for days of uncertainty. One senior European official sent a “fingers crossed” emoji when asked about the election on Tuesday.
The official sent the message on the condition of anonymity for fear of bringing down Trump’s wrath on the official’s country.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan took to Twitter to endorse Biden and wish him good luck. “We’re rooting for you,” he wrote. Khan’s backing of Biden follows years of public clashes with Trump.
Many media outlets abroad are coving the election much as they would national elections in their own countries. In Germany, some news sites have featured election live blogs for days or even weeks.
Some European commentators voiced concern over the impact on the environment of another Trump term. “On the eve of the American elections, Donald Trump can boast of being clear about his ambitions in terms of the environment: they are close to nothing,” warned an article in France’s left-wing Libération newspaper.