Reaction to Trump nomination from US’s Western allies UPDATE:Renzi weighs in too

[Mr. Morden]

So Chris Pyne (Australia’s Minister for Industry, Innovation, and Science) just called Trump’s support “terrifying”:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/terrifying-and-kind-of-weird-christopher-pyne-blasts-the-donald-trump-phenomenon-20160316-gnl53l.html

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And this is coming from someone in a center-right party.  If Trump is nominated (not elected president, but simply nominated by the Republican Party), what kind of reaction do you envision from the political class of Canada, Australia, and Western Europe?  Normally, they try to remain “officially” neutral, but this time it might be different.  How will they balance any public pressure to show disgust against the imperative to not be seen as trying to interfere with an American election?

What if, for example, Trump follows the example of Obama ’08 and Romney ’12, and does a quick foreign tour during the summer?  Romney visited a few countries last time, including the UK, where he met with both Cameron and Miliband.  Would Cameron even return Trump’s calls, if he tried to do that this time?  Maybe Cameron would refuse to meet him, but Corbyn would agree?  That would be an interesting meeting.  

[TJ in Oregon]

They might impose sanctions on us. Trump won't have to ban free trade, no one will be willing.

[ag]

Well, in Mexico I literally cannot find a single person who would confess to merely disliking Trump. Everybody I know is ranging from "hate him" to "terrified by him". And most of my circle are people from Mexico's pro-American right wing. If he gets to be president it is going to be very ugly. Our presidential election is in June 2018: if Trump is in the White House, I am pretty certain candidates will compete on how anti-American they are.

[Meclazine for Israel]

The only people who will comment from overseas are people who don't like him.

People who agree that you can secure your borders and control foreign trade wont say a word.

So it will be very biased.

Australia closed its borders to illegal boat arrivals, and not one illegal has arrived by boat since 2013/14.

Yet no one bats an eyelid anymore, left wing or right wing. Its a nil political debate when your borders are secure.

[Joe Republic]

It would have been interesting if the UK had followed through in banning him from entering.

[SillyAmerican]

The only people who will comment from overseas are people who don't like him.

People who agree that you can secure your borders and control foreign trade wont say a word.

So it will be very biased.

Australia closed its borders to illegal boat arrivals, and not one illegal has arrived by boat since 2013/14.

Yet no one bats an eyelid anymore, left wing or right wing. Its a nil political debate when your borders are secure.

Mexicans are getting ticked off because Donald Trump wants to control our southern border? Please alert the #NeverTrump folks.

Simply indicative of how far off the mark the U.S. finds itself these days, that we can't even say we want secure borders and we'd like to see American companies producing their products here in the United States rather than in other countries. The tone of Trump's delivery may be a bit off, but the basic points of his message?

And I agree: the coverage from abroad will be very one sided, given the circumstances.

[ag]

The only people who will comment from overseas are people who don't like him.

People who agree that you can secure your borders and control foreign trade wont say a word.

So it will be very biased.

Australia closed its borders to illegal boat arrivals, and not one illegal has arrived by boat since 2013/14.

Yet no one bats an eyelid anymore, left wing or right wing. Its a nil political debate when your borders are secure.

Mexicans are getting ticked off because Donald Trump wants to control our southern border?

No, because we all are rapists and robbers.

And that is something Mr. Trump and his followers will never live down. Next time, when you talk about how much you like Mr. Trump in the presence of a Latino gardener or hotel maid, or, for that matter, a Latino Ivy League Prof., keep in mind what he thinks about you. Hint: S/he thinks you are a rapist and a bandit.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

It would have been interesting if the UK had followed through in banning him from entering.

Would have lasted as long as Modi's ban once he was PM.

Basically most leaders rely on conventional wisdom irt politics in America, so have felt fairly safe attacking Trump assuming he would never enter power. As there is more and more danger of him entering power, they may backtrack.

We would probably see a wave of anti-American backlash. Europe may see renewed calls to leave NATO, US military bases may be evicted, negotiations with Muslim countries will collapse (possibly even stalwart allies like the Gulf, Senegal, SE Asian countries and the Muslim areas of the Balkans would go south). Trump's anti Japanese scaremongering would also go down pretty badly in Japan and possibly embolden the left there. The abandonment of the TPP would send countries there falling (sadly) back in the influence of China. It would be great news for Jeremy Corbyn etc.

(Incidentally this election will probably have an unprecedented epidemic of foreigners sticking their noses in to make 'sensible endorsements' for the American people. This would probably not be great news for anti-Yrumpists)

[°Leprechaun]

Perhaps the real reason Trump wants a wall is to keep Americans in, rather than keep aliens out.

Who would want to come here if he (oh the horror) were to win (not likely, I hope)?

[Ebowed]

Chris Pyne is one to talk.  He wasted the last two years trying to deregulate Australian universities and importing the disastrous American system where students get straddled with $100,000+ debts just to get an education.  He is an absolute disgrace to the concept of public service, and owes his current political position entirely to the "pay-to-play" system embodied by the current Prime Minister.

Chris Pyne may pretend to rise above the politics of division and a skewed redistribution of societal resources to the parasitic investor class, but he and Donald Trump actually have plenty of policies in common.  A minor stylistic difference is the only thing that separates them.

[Orthogonian Society Treasurer]

They will bend the knee or be destroyed.

[Ebowed]

They will bend the knee or be destroyed.

That's adorable.  The truth is that the election of Trump will signal to the rest of the world that the US is, in fact, a failed state.  Given your status as a cheerleader, presumably you are well prepared and already a member of a local militia.  To each their own, I suppose, but it does strike me as a terrible way to live.

[Mr. Morden]

As stated in the OP, I'm not asking about how they'll react if he's elected (which I'd still say is a longshot).  I'm asking about how they'll react if/when he's nominated.

E.g., during a US presidential campaign, it's not uncommon for visiting foreign leaders to meet with both major party nominees, if they happen to be in the country.  Or conversely, for the candidate to do an overseas trip, and meet with foreign leaders on their home turf.  Would Cameron, Hollande, Merkel, et al. even agree to have a phone conversation with Trump during the course of the campaign?  They're also, presumably, going to get asked questions about Trump during the course of the campaign.  How will they respond?

[Santander]

Marine Le Pen types might meet with him, but mainstream politicians would steer clear.

[Edu]

Macri is friends with Donald Trump but I seem to remember a recent interview with the VicePresident who said that the government doesn't actually want Trump to win. Can't find the link now though.

I suspect they are going to be pretty quiet about this throughout the campaign and probably hoping The Donald dissapears from national stage pretty fast

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Macri is friends with Donald Trump but I seem to remember a recent interview with the VicePresident who said that the government doesn't actually want Trump to win. Can't find the link now though.

I suspect they are going to be pretty quiet about this throughout the campaign and probably hoping The Donald dissapears from national stage pretty fast

yeah, if there's one thing that will bring Kircherism back, it's Trump.

[rob in cal]

    Cameron has twice run successful national campaigns calling for legal immigration
reduction from non-EU people, plus he too is adept at the art of the deal, with his coalition agreement in 2010, so there are some points of similarity with him and the Donald (and yes I realize and have posted earlier that Cameron's approach to campaigning on immigration, not the Donalds, is more appropriate and effective.

[Mr. Morden]

Politico has an interesting story on this very question:

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/trump-terrifies-world-leaders-222233

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[SillyAmerican]

The only people who will comment from overseas are people who don't like him.

People who agree that you can secure your borders and control foreign trade wont say a word.

So it will be very biased.

Australia closed its borders to illegal boat arrivals, and not one illegal has arrived by boat since 2013/14.

Yet no one bats an eyelid anymore, left wing or right wing. Its a nil political debate when your borders are secure.

Mexicans are getting ticked off because Donald Trump wants to control our southern border?

No, because we all are rapists and robbers.

And that is something Mr. Trump and his followers will never live down. Next time, when you talk about how much you like Mr. Trump in the presence of a Latino gardener or hotel maid, or, for that matter, a Latino Ivy League Prof., keep in mind what he thinks about you. Hint: S/he thinks you are a rapist and a bandit.

You're absolutely right. What Trump should say: "I'd like to clarify something I said earlier. All of those illegal immigrants that dislike me so much? Well, I can tell you with 100% certainty that 100% of them have broken the law."

You see, despite the objections of the PC police, there's a reason for someone being called an illegal immigrant...

[Fuzzy Bear]

The thought that other nations would ban an American President from their shores is silly.  These foreign pols pander to their own constituencies and nurture historical grudges for their own political gain, but since so many of them NEED America to help defend them, and/or financially bail them out, they'll drop the crap the minute Trump (if he's elected) gives his inauguration speech.

The idea that a foreign leader would try to "ban" Trump is, in a real way, foreigners trying to interfere in our internal affairs.  These foreign nations would not tolerate such a posture from the US toward any of its leaders.  If these nations are, indeed, serious in wanting to "ban" Trump, his election becomes something that is NECESSARY for the tail to stop wagging the dog.  I don't think it's a bad thing for a President to conclude that it's more important for other nations to worry about what we think about them than vice versa.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

It amazes me how many Americans want to cut the their own legs off in order to spite the rest of the world. Nationalism is a poison.

[dax00]

It amazes me how many Americans want to cut the their own legs off in order to spite the rest of the world. Nationalism is a poison.

Nationalism is a great thing. It just doesn't mix too well with globalism. I would prefer it if the US had no allies - no obligations to other countries - due to how little the rest of the world could do (relatively) for us.

[beaver2.0]

It amazes me how many Americans want to cut the their own legs off in order to spite the rest of the world. Nationalism is a poison.

I really doubt many people are voting for Trump just to mess with the rest of the world.

[Sbane]

The only people who will comment from overseas are people who don't like him.

People who agree that you can secure your borders and control foreign trade wont say a word.

So it will be very biased.

Australia closed its borders to illegal boat arrivals, and not one illegal has arrived by boat since 2013/14.

Yet no one bats an eyelid anymore, left wing or right wing. Its a nil political debate when your borders are secure.

Mexicans are getting ticked off because Donald Trump wants to control our southern border?

No, because we all are rapists and robbers.

And that is something Mr. Trump and his followers will never live down. Next time, when you talk about how much you like Mr. Trump in the presence of a Latino gardener or hotel maid, or, for that matter, a Latino Ivy League Prof., keep in mind what he thinks about you. Hint: S/he thinks you are a rapist and a bandit.

You're absolutely right. What Trump should say: "I'd like to clarify something I said earlier. All of those illegal immigrants that dislike me so much? Well, I can tell you with 100% certainty that 100% of them have broken the law."

You see, despite the objections of the PC police, there's a reason for someone being called an illegal immigrant...

So you think all Mexicans are rapists? Because that is what they are pissed about.....

Of course we can do our own generalization. All Trump supporters are human trash! Racist pieces of sh**t.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

It amazes me how many Americans want to cut the their own legs off in order to spite the rest of the world. Nationalism is a poison.

Nationalism is a great thing. It just doesn't mix too well with globalism. I would prefer it if the US had no allies - no obligations to other countries - due to how little the rest of the world could do (relatively) for us.

If you are a nationalist you should stop calling yourself a left-winger. Nationalism is selling-out the international working-class to the elite for the sake of some miserable lines on a map.

It amazes me how many Americans want to cut the their own legs off in order to spite the rest of the world. Nationalism is a poison.

I really doubt many people are voting for Trump just to mess with the rest of the world.

I've seen it a lot. People like "screw the rest of the world, we're America". Even Sanders supporters which is grim.