Donald Trump in the eyes of world leaders

Many world leaders believe that Mr. Trump will cause America to "withdraw" if he returns to the White House, but others say this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Former US President Donald Trump's recent speeches have been circulating around the world, raising his grievances in America's foreign relations with other countries.

For three years, world leaders have ignored him. Now, they are parsing his words and planning for his possible return to the White House.

After two resounding victories in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries, it seems that nothing can stop Trump from winning the presidential nomination, most likely against Democratic rival Joe Biden. In some recent hypothetical elections conducted by polling firms, he has even surpassed President Biden.

Former President Trump campaigned in Waterloo, Iowa, in December 2023. Photo: AFP — Former President Trump campaigned in Waterloo, Iowa, in December 2023. Photo: *AFP*

Several European leaders have publicly expressed concern about a scenario where Mr Trump defeats Mr Biden and returns to the White House. Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, recently said that the former US president’s re-election would be a “threat” to the continent.

Leaders of some of America's closest allies are also worried about the possibility that Washington would be willing to ignore diplomatic norms and traditions if Mr Trump returned to the White House.

"We want to help the world if we can," Trump said in New Hampshire on January 19. "But we have to help ourselves first. Our country is in terrible trouble."

Trump called former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, his only rival for the Republican nomination, a “globalist fool”. He said Ms Haley “could easily be manipulated into sending hundreds of billions of dollars to Ukraine”.

"I want to help Ukraine too," the former president said. "My problem is that war should never have happened." Trump also said there was "no chance" that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have launched a war in Ukraine if he were still in the White House.

Trump also criticized European governments for not supporting NATO enough, claiming that he had made them spend "billions and billions of dollars" on defense.

“They didn’t love me,” he said. “I made them do things that no one thought possible.”

These statements have raised concerns that if re-elected, Trump will force Ukraine to make concessions to Russia to quickly end the war, and even break relations with NATO.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Trump's comments that he could quickly end the conflict.

“What he said was very dangerous,” the Ukrainian leader said in an interview in mid-month, adding that the prospect of the former US president making decisions and agreements with President Putin without consulting Ukraine was “quite scary.”

Many other European leaders have avoided commenting on Trump. At a press conference in Paris last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would “meet any leader and engage in dialogue with anyone for France and the good of the country.”

The French leader noted that he had achieved significant results with the US during Trump's presidency, despite failures on some issues such as climate change or tariffs.

Poland's new Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who has accused Trump of damaging transatlantic relations, was asked last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, about the prospects of the former US president returning.

"That's a good question, which I will answer clearly in my former capacity as a member of the European Parliament," he told reporters, laughing. "But in my current capacity, I have to say that Poland will work with every US president and we will want to have the best possible transatlantic relationship."

In Asia, US allies are also concerned about the scenario of Washington withdrawing from the region if the White House changes hands.

President Biden has sought since his election to rebuild relations in the region that his aides say were frayed under Trump. Last August, he held a summit at Camp David with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. South Korea and Japan have also agreed to resolve some historical differences and cooperate with the United States in responding to North Korea’s provocations.

Mr Biden also reached agreements to cooperate with South Korea on nuclear deterrence and provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.

But some regional observers say those US positions could change if Mr Trump returns to power.

“If Trump is elected, the relationship between South Korea and the US will change dramatically,” said Yang Kee-ho, a professor of Japanese studies at Sungkonghoe University in Seoul. “That’s why the authorities have been quick to take cooperative measures between Washington, Tokyo and Seoul to make the trilateral framework difficult to reverse.”

With encouragement from the Biden administration, Japan has nearly doubled its military spending in recent years, largely to counter the threat from China, according to Haruo Shimada, an economics professor in Tokyo. But if Trump takes office and says he no longer sees China as a central focus of his foreign policy, "I think the Japanese government will face a huge shock," Shimada said.

But not all leaders expressed concern about a Trump victory. Polish President Andrzej Duda said the former US president was “fully aware” of the threat from Russia and that he was the first to block Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, which Poland has long viewed as a security threat. The project was halted two days before the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted in 2022.

"I don't think Mr. Trump is naive about President Putin," the Polish leader said.

Many also see potential in a president who comes from the business world and emphasizes pragmatism. Some countries even see a less globalized America as a positive.

“We really welcome his presidency,” Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondoon said on January 24. “During Trump’s first term, the US really did very little in the world.”

Vu Hoang (According to Washington Post, Reuters, AFP )

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