PARIS (AP) — European leaders may have breathed audible sighs of relief when U.S. President Joe Biden visited them last week, but Biden’s top diplomat is getting even more effusive welcomes on the continent. As Antony Blinken visits traditional American allies this week, senior European officials are treating him like the rock star he once aspired to be for simply representing the shift from former President Donald Trump. Top diplomats in Germany and France dropped all diplomatic caution in expressing their glee that Trump is no longer in charge on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Germany’s foreign minister rejoiced that America “is back on our side” while his French counterpart hailed the end of four years of isolation.
