Na gut!

Germans overwhelmingly disapproved of Trump during his tenure, and his four years in the White House have tested the true depth German goodwill for the United States. When Biden won, top elected officials swiftly offered their congratulations: Chancellor Angela Merkel, who’s had a tense relationship with Trump, stressed the “indispensable” nature of the “transatlantic relationship.” And as Germany’s first female chancellor, she paid special attention to Kamala Harris’s historic election as vice president. As a woman and the daughter of immigrants, Merkel said, she is "an inspiration for many people in the US."

Germany's leaders long considered the U.S. their most important international ally, and have been dismayed at the extent to which Trump seemed intent on trashing the German-American relationship. Biden taking over won't undo that damage overnight—many politicians here believe Germany and Europe need to take more initiative on the world stage—but a Biden administration will be a welcome change for policymakers here.

Although there weren’t the same kind of spontaneous celebrations in the streets of Berlin as there were in major US cities—Germany is still in the middle of a “lockdown light,” after all—a small international crowd gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate to cheer and wave American flags. Others celebrated in small groups in private homes and apartments, since restaurants and bars remain closed.

The German media had covered Trump’s presidency in remarkably granular day-to-day detail, and the election results were no different. In the days following Election Day, some of my German friends followed county-by-county results coming in; some seemed to know an inordinate amount about the margins in Maricopa County, Arizona, or how many remaining ballots needed to be counted in Philadelphia. And watching Biden give his acceptance speech, every friend I watched with—even those without a strong connection to the States—had tears in their eyes. One said it felt like he'd had a heavy stone sitting on his chest for the last four years, and that on Saturday that weight was finally gone.