Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said if elected, he may not have a good relationship with British Prime Minister David Cameron. Mr. Cameron had earlier called Mr. Trump’s proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from the U.S. “divisive, stupid and wrong”.
“Number one, I’m not stupid, OK? I can tell you that right now — just the opposite,” Mr. Trump told a British TV programme. “Number two, in terms of divisive, I don’t think I’m a divisive person. I’m a unifier, unlike our president now I’m a unifier.”
“It looks like we’re not going to have a very good relationship,” Mr. Trump said. “I hope to have a good relationship with him, but it sounds like he’s not willing to address the problem either.”
Support for Brexit
Mr. Trump also reiterated his support for Britain’s exit from the European Union. “I think it if I were from Britain, I would probably not want it. I’d want to go back to a different system,” he said. Making a case for Britain’s continuation in the EU, President Barack Obama has recently said an exit would put the U.S.’s closest ally at the back of the trade queue.
Mr. Trump does not agree and as President, he would not let that happen. “I am going to treat everybody fairly but it wouldn’t make any difference to me whether they were in the EU or not. You would certainly not be back of the queue, that I can tell you.”
Mr. Trump’s views on U.S. allies and adversaries can turn the U.S. foreign policy built over decades on its head. He wants higher tariff on imports from China to force change in its currency policy, wants punitive tariffs on U.S. companies shifting jobs to cheaper countries such as Mexico and India, may allow Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear capabilities, and will demand allies such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and South Korea to pay for the maintenance of U.S. bases there. Mr. Trump will also move the U.S. closer to Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin is one of the few world leaders to have publicly appreciated the Republican candidate.
Mr. Trump has raised the alarm in many world capitals. “Everywhere I go, every leader I meet, they ask about what’s happening in America. They cannot believe it,” Secretary of State John Kerry said recently. Nowhere has it been more pronounced than in Britain, where even Parliament debated Mr. Trump and his policies. But the candidate sees no reason to change. In fact, he has forced changes in his likely Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton’s positions. Mr. Trump has said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has outlived its utility and he would force U.S. allies to spend more on the alliance. Ms. Clinton has also said in recent statements that U.S. allies will have to spend more on defence.
President slams Trump
Meanwhile, President Obama took a swipe at Mr. Trump’s plans to ban Muslims from entering America and build walls between the U.S. and other nations. Speaking at the Rutgers University on Sunday, the President said: “The world is more interconnected than ever before, and it’s becoming more connected every day. Building walls won’t change that.”
“Isolating or disparaging Muslims, suggesting that they should be treated differently when it comes to entering this country, that is not just a betrayal of our values. That’s not just a betrayal of who we are — it would alienate the very communities at home and abroad who are our most important partners in the fight against extremism,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
