close
close

World leaders congratulate Trump, but his victory is likely to send the world into turmoil again

Posted on by Vanessa
World leaders congratulate Trump, but his victory is likely to send the world into turmoil again

Jill Lawless
| Associated Press

London – The verdict of US voters was more decisive than most experts and analysts had predicted. Now the world is waiting to see whether the election of Donald Trump for the second time will be as destabilizing as many American allies fear.

Trump secured victory on Wednesday after surpassing the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory. In a victory speech before the official declaration, he promised to “put our country first” and bring about a “golden age” for America.

In Trump's first term, he insulted and angered many of the United States' longtime allies. His return to the White House, four years after losing office to President Joe Biden, has enormous consequences for everything from global trade to climate change to numerous crises and conflicts around the world.

Trump has promised to intensify the tariff dispute with China, the US's growing economic and strategic rival. In the Middle East, Trump has promised to end the conflicts between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah, without saying how. He has also vowed to end the war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office – something Ukraine and its supporters fear would be done on terms favorable to Moscow.

Here's how leaders and others around the world are reacting:

NATO is nervous and Ukraine is worried

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte congratulated Trump and said – probably more in hope than certainty – that “I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO” in the face of “a growing number of global challenges.” . including “the increasing rapprochement of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.”

Trump was a harsh critic of the North Atlantic military alliance during his first term in office, accusing other members of failing to stick to their guns. Earlier this year, he said the United States would not defend NATO members if they did not meet their defense spending targets.

Highlighting the positive, Rutte praised Trump for his work in persuading member states to increase their defense spending and said NATO was now “stronger, bigger and more united.”

America's allies are grappling – belatedly, some say – about what to do when they cannot rely on the United States for their defense. Phillips O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, said it was not just NATO. Washington's other allies in the Indo-Pacific, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and even Australia, “can no longer expect the United States to be a reliable defense partner,” he said.

Nowhere is the stakes higher than in Ukraine – the US is by far Kiev's largest military supporter in the fight against the Russian invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky, like Rutte, said he welcomed Trump's “peace through strength” approach.

“This is exactly the principle that can practically bring a just peace in Ukraine closer,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “I am confident that together we will make it happen. We look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under the decisive leadership of President Trump.”

There were no congratulations from Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian-American relations were at the “lowest point in history.”

European congratulations hide deep divisions

European leaders rushed to congratulate Trump even before his victory was officially announced – some more effusively than others.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it a “historic election victory” and said that “as closest allies, the UK and the US will continue to work together to protect our shared values ​​of freedom and democracy.”

Like the governments of US allies around the world, Starmer's center-left government has worked hard to forge ties with Trump and his team. Starmer had dinner with Trump at Trump Tower in September.

France's centrist President Emmanuel Macron congratulated with “respect and ambition”. Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated Trump and said he wanted to continue to have close relations, even if “many things will certainly be different under a government led by Donald Trump.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose far-right government is somewhat politically close to Trump, said Italy and the United States have a “strategic bond that we will now certainly strengthen even further.”

European leaders like to emphasize that the transatlantic relationship goes beyond the boundaries of individual politicians, but Trump's protectionist economic leanings are a cause for concern. During his last term in office, he imposed tariffs on European steel and aluminum, throwing the bloc's economy into turmoil.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the EU and the US are “connected by a true partnership between our peoples, uniting 800 million citizens. Let us work together to create a transatlantic partnership that continues to deliver benefits for our citizens.”

Europe's populist politicians, meanwhile, welcomed the victory of a politician they consider a kindred spirit.

“They threatened him with prison, they confiscated his property, they wanted to kill him … and he still won,” said Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

On Thursday, Orbán will hold a summit in Budapest for around 50 other European leaders – many of whom are far more concerned about the impact of a second Trump presidency on Europe's economy and security.

A Middle East in turmoil awaits Trump's moves

During his first term, Trump pushed to reshape the Middle East through reconciliation between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and all eyes are now on how he intervenes in the raging conflicts between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and Israel and Hezbollah intervened in the region in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump's election victory “the greatest comeback in history.”

“Her historic return to the White House represents a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!” he wrote on social media.

Trump and Netanyahu – a fellow conservative nationalist – had a close relationship during the former president's first term, but it soured when Netanyahu congratulated President Joe Biden on his 2020 victory.

Netanyahu's inner circle hopes Trump will give Israel free reign against its enemies, but the president-elect is notoriously unpredictable and the Israeli leader faces strong opposition at home. On Tuesday he fired popular Defense Minister Yoav Gallant amid disagreements over the conduct of the war, a surprise announcement that sparked protests across the country.

Hamas issued a terse statement saying: “Our attitude towards the new US administration depends on its positions and practical behavior towards our Palestinian people, their legitimate rights and their just cause.”

Washington is one of the key brokers of the so far unsuccessful ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip and has publicly accused Hamas of rejecting several agreements. Hamas denied this and instead accused Israel of demanding last-minute changes to the proposals.

The challenge of China still looms

There was no immediate reaction from the Chinese government to Trump's victory, but analysts were pessimistic, citing the likelihood of an escalation in tariffs and a worsening confrontation over Taiwan.

“It's not all bleak, but there are more challenges than opportunities,” said Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing. “We are clear about the challenges. As for the opportunities, we have yet to see them clearly.”

The long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea represent a delicate fault line in the US-China rivalry in Asia and will likely remain a major foreign policy concern for the next American president.

US allies in Asia were concerned about China's growing influence and called for Trump's attention in congratulatory messages.

“I hope to work closely with President-elect Trump to raise the Japan-US alliance and relations to an even higher level,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters, saying he hoped to work with the elected man soon to be able to speak to the president.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol wrote on “We look forward to working closely with you.”

Tensions between the Koreas are at their highest in years as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly flaunted his expanding nuclear weapons and missile programs while Russia has provided ammunition and troops to support its war in Ukraine.

Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this story.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *