The World Reacts to President-Elect Trump (Live Updated)
Updated: 4:15 PM EST
The United States finally has a new president-elect.
The election of Donald Trump makes this an uncertain moment for much of the national security community.
As the day goes on, War on the Rocks will be providing updates on other countries’ reactions to the election.
World Leaders
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued a statement extending congratulations to Trump and saying he “look[s] forward to working” together amidst “a challenging new security environment.”
- Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto indicated his willingness to work with the president-elect, and stated that “Mexico and the USA are friends, partners, and allies.”
- Far-right Israeli politician Bayit Yehudi and Education Minister Naftali Bennett issued a joint statement congratulating Trump and saying, “the era of a Palestinian state is over.”
- Responses from across the Greek government were strikingly negative. Member of European Parliament Dimitris Papadimoulis called Trump’s win a “seriously negative development for the whole world;” New Democracy spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos tweeted “it’s the end of the world as we know it;” and Democratic Left leader Thanasis Theoharopoulos said that “with Trump’s win, the hope that Barack Obama brought is being turn[ed] into a concern for the entire planet.”
- Meanwhile, Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party called Trump’s election “a victory for the forces which oppose globalisation, are fighting illegal migration and are in favour of clean ethnic states, in favour of self-sufficiency in the national economy.”
- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon read a statement of congratulations, and exhorted “all Americans to stay true to [the] spirit” of “unity in diversity,” which he called “one of the country’s greatest strengths.”
- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte — the so-called “Philippine Trump” — offered congratulations in a statement wishing the president-elect success and praising the U.S. political tradition.
- Saudi King Salman phoned Trump to offer his congratulations and looking forward to continued cooperation between the two countries “to bring peace and stability to the Middle East.”
- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, reportedly the first world leader to reach Trump by phone after the election, offered congratulations and optimism regarding U.S.–Egyptian relations.
- U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May offered a terse congratulatory statement in which she reiterated the enduring “special relationship” between the two countries, which “are, and will remain, strong and close partners on trade, security, and defence.”
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also offered congratulations and said he looks forward to “working ‘very closely’ with Trump, his administration and with the U.S. Congress in the coming years.”
- Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his hopes for a “constructive” and cooperative way forward with the United States “in the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win.”
- Russian President Vladimir Putin offered hearty congratulations as Trump was beginning his victory speech, articulating his “hope to work together for removing Russian–American relations from their crisis state.” The lower house of the Russian parliament broke into cheers and applause at the news of Trump’s election.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said late last night that the United States has to hold up its end of last year’s historic nuclear deal.
- A spokesman for the Iraqi government said that Trump’s election is not expected to erode the “solid base” of cooperation between the countries, and expressed hope that the United States would continue to step up its counterterrorism partnership with Iraq.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump, with whom he hopes to “continue to strengthen the unique alliance between [the] two countries and bring it to even greater heights.”
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope that the election would “lead to beneficial steps being taken for the world concerning basic rights and freedoms, democracy, and developments in our region.”
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered a congratulatory tweet citing “friendship” Trump showed India during the campaign.
- Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif — a fellow businessman — celebrated Trump’s “historic” win and commitment to free enterprise. He also emphasized the importance of a continued strategic relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed U.S. and German shared values, and offered “close cooperation” with the new administration. Frauke Petry, co-leader of the nationalist Alternative for Germany party, tweeted congratulations on the “historic” choice “against corruption.” German politicians across the rest of the political spectrum expressed shock.
- French President François Holland offered a perfunctory congratulation, and said Trump’s election “opens a period of uncertainty. It must be faced with lucidity and clarity.” Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right Front National, tweeted: “Congratulations to the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the American people — free!”
- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said governments and leaders come and go, but the bonds between the U.S. and Australia are “so strong … that we will continue to work with our friends in the United States.”
Terrorist and Insurgent Groups
Shortly after Trump was declared the president-elect, a number of Salafi jihadists representing a basketful of terrorist groups took to Twitter to offer their congratulations.
The Taliban said in a statement that Trump should withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan and “allow Afghans to become a free nation and develop relationships with other countries based on non-interference in each other’s affairs.”
Colin Steele is a master’s candidate at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He received his BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. Find him on Twitter at @bravo_xray12.
Image: Ali Shaker, VOA
