A man wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus reads the headlines about the U.S. presidential elections at a newspapers stand in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. The world is watching as millions of Americans cast their ballots for the next president on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
From Ford Model T cars that popped off the assembly line in just 90 minutes to 60-second service for burgers, the United States has had a major hand in making the world a frenetic and impatient place, primed and hungry for instant gratification.
So waking up to the news Wednesday that the winner of the U.S. election might not be known for hours, days or weeks — pundits filled global airwaves with their best guesses — came as a shock to a planet weaned on that most American of exports: speed.
”We have to have a little patience, almost certainly a lot of patience,” said the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, as the nail-biting contest for the White House increasingly focused on three states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — that could prove crucial in determining whether President Donald Trump or challenger Joe Biden wins.
From Ford Model T cars that popped off the assembly line in just 90 minutes to 60-second service for burgers, the United States has had a major hand in making the world a frenetic and impatient place, primed and hungry for instant gratification.
So waking up to the news Wednesday that the winner of the U.S. election might not be known for hours, days or weeks — pundits filled global airwaves with their best guesses — came as a shock to a planet weaned on that most American of exports: speed.
”We have to have a little patience, almost certainly a lot of patience,” said the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, as the nail-biting contest for the White House increasingly focused on three states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — that could prove crucial in determining whether President Donald Trump or challenger Joe Biden wins.
Traditional U.S. allies clung to the belief that regardless of whether Trump or Biden emerged as the winner, the fundamentals that have long underpinned some of America’s key relationships would survive the uncertainty and the U.S. electoral process.
“Whatever the result of the election, they will remain our allies for many years and decades, that is certain,” said Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for the internal market.
That idea was echoed by the prime minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, who told a parliamentary session that “the Japan-U.S. alliance is the foundation of Japanese diplomacy, and on that premise I will develop solid relationship with a new president.”
AP journalists around the world contributed.
Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
