Biden at Steinmeier: Kisses goodbye for Uncle Joe

The American presidential election will not take place until November 5, 2024, but it has long been decided. At least at this time, Friday, October 18th, shortly after 11 a.m., at least at this location, Bellevue Palace, Spreeweg 1, 10557 Berlin, 1st floor. The Federal President’s official residence is not a “swing state”, one thing is very clear here: Joe Biden is and remains the American President of the hearts. Well, at least in German hearts.

At the front of the room is Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and he has slipped into a skin that he doesn’t always have, especially for this occasion, that of a particularly warm-hearted, even funny host. There are many stereotypes about Germans, says Steinmeier in English. That they are so humorous, so exuberant and full of love for life. But a stereotype that is true: “We are good at keeping records”, we keep our files in order.

And in these same files, Steinmeier’s people unearthed what a detailed memo “a good German official” wrote an incredible 44 and a half years ago about the first visit to Germany by the still very young US Senator Joe Biden.

And the mere fact that an American senator came to Germany voluntarily (and repeatedly returned voluntarily, for example as a permanent guest at the Munich Security Conference) seems remarkable at this moment. Just like things that are self-evident that the Federal President is now saying, but that still have to be said in days like these: that Biden embodies an America that believes in freedom, democracy, the rule of law and even in the importance of partners like Germany.

Steinmeier to Biden: “Thank you, Mr. President”

But Steinmeier brought a lot more love with him; he praised the person who heads the most powerful military in the world and the largest economy on the planet, above all, as a “very decent person.” He says: “Thank you, Mr. President, in the name of my country.”

Then Biden finally gets his medal pinned on him, the “Special Level of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic,” Germany’s highest award – and begins to speak in a quiet, husky voice. He makes the joke he often makes: that he only looks 40, but he is much older. And as if to underline this, he delves into a short history lesson, starting with Helmut Schmidt, right up to the moments when “history and hope” rhymed, as the man with Irish roots quotes an Irish poet: for example as the Berlin Wall fell, and Kiev did not fall after the Russian attack.

Then the ceremony is already over. Biden proudly wears his medal on his jacket, he stalks into the next room, and a guest of honor says quietly behind him as he leaves: “It’s better that he stops.” The man next to him agrees and says how glad he was that Biden was immediately given water when he threatened to lose his voice. And that he was afraid that Biden might tip over the glass. Laugh the way people have been laughing at age jokes about Joe Biden for months.

Like moths, people are suddenly drawn to Joe Biden

But shortly afterwards something amazing happens in the next room, where a small reception is taking place. Max Weber once defined the different types of charisma. One thing is charisma, which Biden has lost somewhat with age. He doesn’t seem much more alive than you might expect from an 81-year-old man.

But there is also the charisma of the office. At least for the moment, Biden is still the US President, he flew in on “Air Force One”, his armored presidential limousine “The Beast” roared through the completely sealed off government district – so sealed off that even a small group of VIP guests got stuck and had to walk for the reception, led by a resolute Friede Springer and of course by Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, the European politician and defense expert for the FDP.

And so even Federal President Steinmeier becomes an extra at the reception. Like moths, people – and especially experienced networkers – are drawn to the proximity of the US President, cell phone cameras usually at the ready. A board member, who cannot be missing from any selfie in Berlin, is working very specifically in the direction of the president. A federal defense minister does the same, as does the prime minister of an eastern German state where a gas pipeline to Russia was once a major nuisance for Americans. A German actress proudly explains to Biden what role she played in “Game of Thrones”.

The search for the right path

But they are all outdone by a woman who, at 102 years old, makes even Joe Biden seem like a young cavalier: Margot Friedländer, icon of “Never Again” memory in Germany. Biden takes the tiny woman in his arms and even kisses her gently on the mouth. He is and remains a human catcher, age or not.

The next appointment is coming soon, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He praised Biden highly until the end, and he in turn received political concessions from Biden. If Olaf Scholz had a friend in office, his name was probably Joe Biden. It should be an emotional farewell. Will the two men also talk about what could happen from November? What about a Kamala Harris, what about a name you can barely pronounce in all this harmony of the day, Donald Trump? Did Germany really use the Biden years to prepare for a world without a Germany fan in the White House?

The guests at the reception are more likely to discuss the upcoming election. It’s about swing states, about Georgia, about the days that followed, about the question of whether a rebellion could break out in America, how helpless they all are. “I don’t trust myself to predict anything for my employees,” says one man. A former German foreign minister walks out of Bellevue Palace, out of the security area, towards the Victory Column, around which everything is closed, he looks at his cell phone, he is obviously looking for the way.

Aren’t we all looking for that right now?