AS IT IS 2016-03-27 Foreign Leaders Taking Sides Against Donald Trump

AS IT IS 2016-03-27 Foreign Leaders Taking Sides Against Donald Trump¹

When Cuban President Raúl Castro was asked his view of the U.S. presidential election, he did what foreign leaders usually do.

He did not answer the question.

Castro responded, “I cannot vote in the United States” at a news conference Tuesday with President Barack Obama in Havana.

But other foreign leaders are breaking with tradition of not taking sides in other countries’ elections.

Most of those who are speaking out are criticizing the leading Republican² presidential candidate, businessman Donald Trump.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto compared the language of Trump to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Trump has called for Mexico to pay for a new wall between the two nations. He also said Mexico is “sending people that have lots of problems... they're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

Pena Nieto responded in an interview with Mexico’s Excelsior newspaper. "That's the way Mussolini arrived and the way Hitler arrived," he said.

In England, Parliament debated a resolution to ban Trump from entering the country. The debate came after Trump called for a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States.

Parliament ended up not voting on the Trump resolution. But British leaders still criticized him.

"I think his remarks are divisive, stupid and wrong," said British Prime Minister David Cameron.

After the March 22 terrorist³ attacks on Brussels, Trump tweeted a link to remarks he made in January, calling the Belgium city a “hell hole.”

“Time & time again I have been right about terrorism. It’s time to get tough,” he tweeted.

When the New York Times reached Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur for a response, his office wrote, “We don't react to Mr. Trump's comments. Have a nice day.”

The day before the terrorist attacks, Trump said he favors reducing the U.S. involvement with NATO. NATO is a 28-nation coalition⁴ that works for the security of its member nations.

Trump has argued throughout his campaign that other nations besides the U.S. should be paying more to defend Europe and Asia.

Ana Palacio is a former Spanish foreign minister. She expressed concerns about Trump’s views in a recent interview with Politico.

“The opportunism, unreliability and amorality that we have seen during the [Trump] campaign would be damaging for the world in general and hurt Europe in particular,” she said.

James Thurber heads the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University in Washington D.C. He said it is “highly unusual” for foreign leaders to criticize a candidate for the presidency⁵, even before he has won his party’s nomination⁶.

Thurber just returned from Turkey, where many already have negative views of the United States

“But they are appalled⁷ at what Donald Trump is saying about Muslims,” he said.

Some foreign leaders praise Trump

Trump is getting some support from abroad, particularly in Russia. He called Russia’s President Vladimir Putin a strong leader and said he “would probably get along with him [Putin] very well."

Putin, in return, praised Trump as “a bright and talented person.”

Victoria Zhuravleva is a Moscow-based expert on U.S.- Russian relations. She said the U.S. has criticized Russia and Putin over the last two years.

“So, when you hear something that is not so critical and even friendlier towards your country it’s like, ‘Thank God. There’s one person we can talk to, Donald Trump.’” She told Reuters.

Trump is also getting praise from some anti-immigration leaders in Europe. They agree with Trump that immigration from the Middle East should stop.

Jean-Marie Le Pen is the former head of the French National Front Party, which wants to limit immigration.

He tweeted, “If I were American, I would vote Donald Trump,”

Words in This Story

respond – v. to say or write something as an answer to a question, a request or criticism

remarks – n. something that someone says or writes to express an opinion or idea

tweet – v. to make a short comment on the website, Twitter.

survey –n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

opportunism – n. someone who tries to get an advantage or something valuable from a situation without thinking about what is fair or right

unreliability – n. not able to be trusted

particular – adj. used to indicate that one specific person or thing is being referred to and no others

appalled – v. to feel disgust

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 republican   

n.拥护共和政体的人； adj.共和政体的，（Republican）共和党人，（Republican）共和党的

参考例句：

• Some families have been republican for generations.有些家庭世代都支持共和党。
• A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.第三个候选人已经加入角逐共和党提名的行列。

3 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

7 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》