Why some foreign politicians are not so keen on Trump
As Donald Trump racked up two more wins this weekend 鈥� Louisiana and Kentucky, though both by a slim margin 鈥� Mitt Romney is not the only one bemoaning his rise to the top.
Mr. Trump's novel foreign policy proposals, such as forcing Mexico to pay for a massive wall along the southern US border, banning all Muslim immigrants, and most recently, bringing back torture, have prompted anxiety among top world leaders about the possible global reverberations should the real-estate mogul and reality television star become leader of the free world.
Appearing on CBS鈥� 鈥淔ace the Nation鈥� Sunday morning, the top Republican presidential contender solidified his stance on torture, vowing to in order to compete with terrorist groups like the Islamic State.
"You know, it's very tough to beat enemies that don't have any, that don't have any restrictions, all right? We have these massive restrictions. Now, I will always abide by the law, but I would like to have the law expanded," Mr. Trump told host John Dickerson.
"I happen to think that when you're fighting an enemy that chops off heads, I happen to think that we should use something that's stronger than we have right now. Right now, basically, waterboarding is essentially not allowed, as I understand it,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 would certainly like it to be, at a minimum, at a minimum to allow that."
Meanwhile, Germany鈥檚 Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said in an interview Sunday that Trump is a threat to world peace.
鈥淲hether Donald Trump, Marine le Pen, or Geert Wilders 鈥� all these right-wing populists are not only a , but also to economic development,鈥� he told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, alluding to the heads of far-right political parties in France and the Netherlands, respectively.
Mr. Gabriel is just the latest foreign dignitary to raise concern over Trump鈥檚 radical nationalistic rhetoric. Back in December, UK Prime Minister David Cameron called Trump鈥檚 proposed Muslim travel ban ".鈥�
"If he came to visit our country, I think he would unite us all against him," Mr. Cameron told British parliamentarians.
Last month, lawmakers in Mexico City unanimously passed legislation that urges their federal government to . The French Prime Minister, less than a month after the Paris attacks, also expressed disdain for Trump鈥檚 discriminatory antics.
鈥淢r. Trump, like others, stokes hatred: our ONLY enemy is radical Islamism,鈥� Manuel Valls tweeted in French.
But beyond just strained diplomatic ties, some pundits foresee even graver consequences, given the current fragility of Western alliances.
鈥淩ight now, we are two or three bad elections away from 鈥╰he end of NATO, the end of the European Union, and maybe the as we know it,鈥� writes Anne Applebaum for Slate.
And Trump, she warns, could be the one to tip the balance:
Trump advocates torture, mass deportation, religious discrimination. He brags that he 鈥渨ould not care that much鈥� whether Ukraine 鈥╳ere admitted to NATO; he has no interest in NATO and its security guarantees. Of Europe, he has written that 鈥渢heir conflicts鈥� are not worth American lives. Pulling back from Europe would save this country millions of dollars annually.鈥�...鈥ㄢ��
Not only is Trump uninterested in America鈥檚 alliances, he would be incapable of sustaining them. In practice, both military鈥� and economic unions require not the skills of a shady property magnate who 鈥渕akes deals鈥� but boring negotiations, unsatisfying 鈥╟ompromises, and, sometimes, the sacrifice of one鈥檚 own national preferences for the greater good. In an era when foreign policy鈥� debate has in most Western countries disappeared altogether, replaced by the reality TV of political entertainment, all of 鈥╰hese things are much harder to explain and justify to a public that isn鈥檛 remotely interested.鈥ㄢ��
