A World’s View on the Trump Candidacy
Since Donald Trump insinuated that Mexican immigrants to the United States are largely criminals and rapists at the very beginning of his presidential candidacy, his rhetoric has flirted with and even embraced xenophobia. No matter the topic or issue, Trump always seems to find someone to blame for harm done to American interests.
If Trump is elected president, he will command the full extent of U.S. diplomatic and military power and is likely to chart a new course in American foreign policy. Trump has already indicated that he would scale back America’s curre
nt role as the world’s policeman by re-examining commitments to longstanding alliances. In a speech last month, he exclaimed that the United States “get[s] nothing” from its defense pacts with such allies as South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and even fellow NATO member Germany.
It is only natural to ask, then, what other countries and their leaders have to say in response to his depictions of them.
The British Parliament famously debated whether to ban Donald Trump from the country after a petition was circulated and obtained nearly 600,000 signatures. Ultimately it resolved not to make any public decisions about individual immigration or travel cases, but Prime Minister David Cameron criticized some of Trump’s statements. Particularly, Cameron labeled Trump’s call for a ban on non-citizen Muslims entering the United States as “divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong.” Officials from Canada, Israel, France, and the Netherlands have expressed similar sentiments.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took a stronger tone in response to the proposal for a ban on Muslim immigrants. He expressed regret for the comments and portrayed the United States as hypocritical for being “among the sponsors and supporters of terrorism” and “supporting terrorists.”
Even Vladimir Putin, who had previously praised Trump as “bright and talented” and said that the two would “get along very well,” has now turned on the putative Republican nominee. In a recent campaign ad, Trump depicted Putin as one of America’s primary enemies and asserted that only he, not expected Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, could handle America’s “toughest opponents.” A spokesman for Putin responded that the Kremlin sincerely regrets the demonizing of Russia that takes place in U.S. elections, and said that Putin responded “negatively” to the ad.
Perhaps the most famous of Trump’s proposals is his call to build wall along the southern border of the United States. Throughout the entire campaign, Trump has asserted that Mexico will pay for the wall. Trump has estimated its price between $5 and $15 billion dollars, while the Washington Post put it closer to $25 billion. Three Mexican presidents, including sitting president Enrique Peña Nieto, have called Trump’s demands absurd and regrettable. Former president Felipe Calderón angrily stated that Mexico “won’t pay a single cent for Trump’s stupid wall,” and former President Vicente Fox expressed the same idea in more profane language.
Some have suggested that Trump’s rhetoric may change as he pivots to a potential general election contest and finds himself trying to broaden his appeal. Yet, even if he can convince the American public that his controversial statements are acceptable, there may be significant consequences for U.S. foreign relations and America’s perception abroad. In fact, given that his campaign has garnered so much international attention, this may prove to be true even in the event that he doesn’t win.