Or would Trump, despite embodying populism, still be seen more as a political outlier?
Background changes to the economic system and China's rise as a competitor would continue, regardless.
It appeared likely that countries would at least hedge their bets more, work on improving relations with other nations for security reasons and aim for more self-reliance.
Commentators have speculated about what Biden would need to do to woo old allies back, after Trump appeared to be more interested in rivals.
Instead it seems that a lot of countries, particularly in Europe, are viewing the President-elect's win as a chance for a reset as much as Biden himself will be hoping it is.
So far, foreign leaders appear to be trying to nurture these stateside fresh green shoots. Perhaps it is simply hope for more stable and predictable behaviour and multilateral policies from the US leadership.
Conventional wisdom has had a good track record this year over Biden's candidacy and what the coronavirus would do if it was not checked early. But some fears and predictions aren't materialising.
The predominant mood is a desire to move on. America's streets erupted in joy rather than the feared unrest. Markets here and in Asia appeared to react positively to the US election result.
Trump is resisting removal and settling scores - firing his defence secretary yesterday. But losing an election ultimately means slipping into lame-duck irrelevancy sooner or later. The limelight follows the shifting power of the presidency.
A quick flood of congratulations came in from foreign leaders after the election was called. There was no waiting to see if Trump would concede and his legal actions were ignored.
There were common themes to messages: Cooperation over the pandemic, trade and climate change.
Both Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Fijian counterpart, Frank Bainimarama, specifically mentioned the climate crisis in their messages. So did the head of the European Commission, and leaders of Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden and the Foreign Minister of Germany, among others.
Environmental efforts have been missing US government input for four years, at a critical time.
"The big difference will be in the communication, that we treat each other again with full respect as partners, allies," German MP Peter Beyer told AP. "President Donald Trump didn't always differentiate between friends and foes."
A Biden Administration would likely try to turn down the temperature on the US relationship with China after a trade war, although attempts to deter military encroachment in the South China Sea would continue. There will likely be more cooperation between the two on global issues.
Those pre-election takes appear to be premature and may be reflective of the gloom and uncertainty of recent months. Suddenly there's some - potentially misplaced - optimism.
Instead expectations are high and add more pressure on the incoming administration's plate.
