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The energy and pressure with which Donald Trump is conducting his presidential election campaign is no longer just alarming his political opponents, but instilling real horror in them. “I’m scared as hell,” these are the words of current US Vice President Kamala Harris reacting to Trump’s landslide victory in the Republican caucuses (primary voting) in Iowa. According to Harris, the prospect of Trump returning to the White House cannot be taken lightly.
Of course, a lot can still change before November 5, when the US presidential elections take place. In the next Republican primary in New Hampshire, which will be held next Tuesday, many are expecting a more successful performance by former South Carolina governor and former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. If in Iowa Trump received 51% of the vote, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – 23%, and Haley – 21%, then, judging by the polls, in New Hampshire Haley has a chance to almost catch up with Trump. At the same time, the next primaries will be held in her home state of South Carolina, so all is not lost for Trump’s 51-year-old rival within the Republican Party.
However, so far the general impression is: “Trump is rushing like a tank.” Even the states of Maine and Colorado banned him from participating in the Republican primaries due to charges related to the storming of the Capitol in January 2021.
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Moreover, although four criminal cases are currently being investigated against Trump, no one can yet answer with complete confidence the question of whether even the most severe possible sentence will stop his presidential campaign. After all, American laws do not directly prohibit those who are in prison from being elected head of state. In any case, as RosBalt noted earlier, attempts at legal prosecution so far only strengthen Trump’s chances.
That is why government officials around the world, especially in Europe and in Kyiv, are now trying to understand how Trump will behave if he does return to the White House. However, he belongs to a rare breed of politician who has what is on his mind and on his tongue. Previously, Trump repeatedly criticized European allies for their insufficient contribution to NATO funding and promised to resolve the conflict in Ukraine literally in one day. After his triumph in Iowa, he again spoke in the same spirit, causing strong emotions not only to Kamala Harris.
Even more terrifying was Politico, which unearthed details of Trump’s private conversation with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in 2020. Allegedly, he then directly stated that the United States “will never come to the aid and will not support” the European Union if it is subjected to an armed attack, and also stated that “NATO is dead” and promised to leave this military bloc.
It is not surprising that Europeans have forgotten about any politeness and do not even try to pretend that they adhere to the principle of non-interference in election processes in other countries. Even such an extremely experienced and cautious official as the Chairman of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, is already directly calling Trump’s possible victory a “threat to Europe.”
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And not only her – as Bloomberg writes, some leaders are afraid to even mention such an outcome of the US elections, “for fear of making the event more likely.” The main fear is that Trump will curtail military aid to Ukraine and bury NATO (no one doubts that without the United States the alliance will completely lose its viability).
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, in an interview with Bloomberg, not only admitted that “Europe in its current form is in great danger,” but also stated that a “nightmare scenario” is imminent when the United States withdraws its troops from EU countries, leaving them defenseless. Things have gotten to the point where politicians in Riga, according to Landsbergis, are “definitely counting down the hours until the next stage of Russian escalation.”
Such gloomy Europeans are unlikely to be able to reassure the words of Sergei Lavrov that the question of changing relations between Moscow and Washington should be addressed to the new US administration, with the understanding that the election of the American leader will be fair. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry made this statement while answering questions on Thursday during a press conference dedicated to summing up the diplomatic results of 2023.
As for politicians in Kyiv, they have no choice but to state the growing alarm about domestic political trends in the United States. “I’m more concerned about what will happen after the election. It is important that the US political system remains focused so that Americans do not drown in internal strife.” TASS words of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba. At the same time, in an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the Davos Forum, Kuleba said that Kyiv will work with any new head of the White House. “I will accept the opinion of the people of the United States, and we will work with whatever reality follows the election,” he said.
Mikhail Makarov
#Kyiv #forced #prepare #reality
2024-01-19 17:30:00