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Joe Biden knows the “Bayerischer Hof” in Munich pretty well.
More than four decades ago, the then young senator took part for the first time in the Munich Security Conference (MSC), which at the time was still called the Armed Forces Conference.
The foreign policy specialist Biden was seen again and again in Munich.
He even came by three times as Vice President.
Two years ago, as a citizen considering running for president, Biden promised, referring to Donald Trump's foreign policy: “That too will pass.
We come back."
Biden is back in Munich early Friday evening - albeit only via video transmission because of the pandemic.
Less than a month after his inauguration, Biden speaks from the East Room of the White House to decision-makers, many of whom he knows personally.
A little Munich in Washington
Sure, there is no handshake, no sideline conversations, no short and confidential tête-à-tête.
But Biden tries to bridge the transatlantic rift, also symbolically.
The MSC logo can be seen in the East Room to the left and right of the lectern with the presidential seal.
So a little Munich in Washington.
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And vice versa.
A short video reminds of Biden's connection with the security conference.
Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the MSC, thanks Biden for keeping his promise to return.
Biden's presence at the virtual security conference feels a bit like resuming a traditional family reunion.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron can be seen next to Biden on the big screen in Munich.
“It's great to be here with Angela and Emmanuel,” Biden opens his 17-minute speech.
“America is back,” he says twice at the beginning: “The transatlantic alliance is back.” That sets the tone.
The new US president is counting on this alliance - and he mentions the strains it has had to endure in recent years.
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But one should “not look back, but look ahead,” says Biden.
The name Donald Trump does not appear once.
Was it really only two years ago that then Vice President Mike Pence paid homage to his boss Trump (“Champion of Freedom”) in Munich and celebrated his America First policy?
Trump had always attacked various European partners, especially Germany, for their inadequate defense spending - and cast doubts about the future of NATO.
Biden does it the other way around.
He first evokes the partnership between the allies, describes the challenges and promises close cooperation.
"The United States is fully committed to our NATO alliance," says Biden.
He points out - did Trump ever do that?
- on the NATO assistance clause, Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
"An attack on one is an attack on all," says Biden.
On the one hand, this is a description of reality, and on the other, a high standard against which Germany must be measured.
A clear message to Europeans
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Biden is a friendly man, he can ensnare his counterpart and his audience.
He's more of a charmer than a bully.
But his statement that "an attack on one is an attack on all" is not least a clear message to Europeans to take responsibility in the worst case.
Biden does not say: "An attack on you is an attack on the USA."
But are Germany and the Germans really ready, in the worst case, to defend Estonia or Latvia militarily against Russian aggression like the one in Ukraine?
Biden expects that. What else?
The mutual assistance clause is not a one-way street.
While Trump rumbled and harassed, sometimes threatening, demanded higher defense spending from Germany, for example, Biden is acting with a carrot instead of a stick.
He appreciates the fact that European states are investing more in their military capabilities and thus in “common defense”.
The praise is also an appeal, albeit unspoken.
It reads: don't let up!
Biden knows what he's talking about.
It was during his tenure as Vice President that NATO members once again pledged at a summit in Wales to increase their defense spending to two percent of their economic strength by 2024.
Barack Obama was the president at the time, not Trump.
John Kerry was Secretary of State at the time, not Mike Pompeo.
As friendly and obliging as Biden was at the first transatlantic family meeting, he should remind Germany of his agreement.
Biden immediately mentions a real leap of faith by pointing out that he had stopped the withdrawal of US soldiers from Germany (announced by Trump);
the US wanted to review its global military presence.
But Biden did not formulate an eternity guarantee for the American troops in Germany.
Even if the president does not mention his predecessor by name, Trump is very well represented in a figurative sense.
For example, when Biden mentions his motto “Building back better” and emphasizes that common democratic values are not “transactional”.
The former businessman Trump always thought in terms of deals, even if the laborious negotiation of political deals was never his business.
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Biden finds clear words for the challenges of democracy, that it is under attack.
Democracy is anything but self-evident, you have to fight for it, renew it, says Biden.
He specifically refers to China and Russia.
"Moscow is attacking democracy"
With China one stands in a "strategic competition".
He points to China's lax handling of the intellectual property of third parties and calls for the same rules to end the distortion of competition.
It is a much harsher tone than Biden's approach to Beijing as Vice President and Senator.
He is even more pronounced about Russia.
"The Kremlin is attacking our democracies and institutions," says Biden.
President Vladimir Putin wants to weaken European projects and undermine the transatlantic partnership.
This shows another difference to Trump, who dealt with Russia, namely Putin, in an almost affectionate manner.
Biden knows that China and Russia want to split the transatlantic partnership.
In order to avoid the impression of a rift between the USA and Europe - which has existed in the past few years - he is holding this joint speech.
His words, to which he was invited to Munich, are not least a message to Beijing and Moscow.
It reads: Americans and Europeans pull together when dealing with autocrats and state parties.
You cannot be divided.