Following US President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has praised his likely replacement, Vice President Kamala Harris, as an “experienced and competent politician.”
Harris “would clearly stand for a continuation of the transatlantic cooperation that has now developed so well,” Scholz said on a talkshow hosted by broadcaster Magenta TV, due to be screened on Wednesday.
“And, if I understand correctly,” Scholz added, Harris also stands in favour “of the US being a country that is growing together.”
Germany would “strive for good relations with every American government,” Scholz stressed, adding that it was not up to him whom the American people elect.
Harris, 59, has managed to garner enough votes from delegates to be nominated as the Democrats’ presidential candidate for the November 5 election, though it is unclear whether she can build up enough momentum to beat Republican rival Donald Trump.
Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he would withdraw from the 2024 presidential race sent shockwaves through US politics. He ended the bid after a disastrous debate performance in June that sent his campaign spinning as concerns were raised about his age and mental fitness.
Scholz said Biden’s decision had “saddened him greatly, because I believe that he has really done an outstanding job.”
The US president had “ensured that transatlantic cooperation worked well in very crisis-ridden times,” Scholz added.
Scholz said there had always been detailed discussions with Biden, “which have moved things forward in a very concrete way and have also led to decisions that we have prepared together.”
Some of Biden’s recent TV appearances and also “the fact that he doesn’t move like a 25-year-old” had distorted the public’s perception of Biden, Scholz said.
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