Supporters of Joe Biden had hoped the debate would allay concerns that Biden was too old to be president, but lawmakers, analysts and investors also said it gave a boost to Trump.
 "Biden's shaky debate performance has overseas allies bracing for Trump's return")
Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump (left) and Joe Biden (right) speak simultaneously during a CNN-sponsored presidential debate in Atlanta on Thursday (June 27). (Photo: PTI) Reuters Tokyo/Seoul
Foreign policy was barely discussed in the first 2024 US presidential debate, but Joe Biden's shaky performance will leave US allies bracing for a return of Donald Trump, analysts said.
Biden's supporters had hoped the debate would allay concerns that he was too old to run for president, but several lawmakers, analysts and investors also said it gave a boost to Trump.
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“Trump didn't win, but Biden may have collapsed,” said Miyake Kunihiko, a former diplomat who is now research director at the think tank Canon Institute for Global Studies.
“Unlike eight years ago, we are much more prepared, as are our other European and Asian allies. Yet Trump remains unpredictable.”
For Japan and South Korea, America's closest allies in Asia, relations with the Trump administration have been strained at times over demands for increased payments for military aid and trade disputes.
Trump has also launched a tariff war with China, the world's second-largest economy, threatening to impose tariffs of more than 60% on all Chinese products if he wins the Nov. 5 election.
In Europe, Trump's criticism of NATO and his calls for other countries to shoulder more of its burden were mainstream in the previous administration, and his skepticism of the organization has become even more worrying this time around as Russia's war in Ukraine has brought conflict to NATO's doorstep.
Peter Lee, a researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said the debate made the possibility of a second Trump term “much clearer.” He said he expected Trump to be “very tough” in pushing allies to increase their defense spending.
Lee Jae-il, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, said companies that rely on the U.S. market will also be wary because “the previous Trump administration implemented many tariff-related policies in the past.”
During the debate, Trump accused Biden of not standing up to China on trade, said Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin “have no respect” for Biden and said he was leading the country into “World War III.”
Biden countered that Trump's tariff proposals would raise costs for American consumers and said he was “cozying up to” people like Kim and Putin.
“The overwhelming impression today is that it's been a disaster for Biden,” Professor Peter Dean of the Centre for American Studies in Sydney said after attending a workshop titled “Trump 2.0”, which also included Australian government officials.
“The mood has changed a lot since the debate, and if people weren't prepared for Trump 2.0, the general view now is that it's a smart play, a smart move.”
