World leaders condemned President Donald Trump’s latest comments on the racially charged tumult in Virginia, lobbing words like “obnoxious” and “highly dangerous” in salvos that suggest Trump’s domestic drama could further undermine his global relationships.
European leaders were among the most vociferous critics Wednesday, even as some far-right elements applauded Trump’s remarks. While some detractors avoided mentioning Trump by name, others didn’t hold back.
“Trump’s downplayed reaction on Charlottesville is obnoxious,” German Justice Minister Heiko Maas tweeted Wednesday. “It was anti-Semitism and racism, there is nothing to make relative.”
The criticism threatened to further erode Trump’s already shaky global standing. The U.S. president has rattled allies with everything from questioning America’s support for NATO to cozying up to Russia’s government. Nonetheless, foreign leaders remain cognizant that they have to keep working with Trump, and so they have carefully calibrated their responses.
British Prime Minister Theresa May criticized Trump for suggesting during an appearance before reporters Tuesday that both white supremacists and those opposing them were equally culpable for the weekend violence in Charlottesville, which left one person dead.
“I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them,” May said, according to media reports. “I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far-right views wherever we hear them.”
But May did not agree to demands that Britain should withdraw an invitation for Trump to make a state visit.
“Donald Trump has shown he is unable to detach himself from the extreme right and racial supremacists,” U.K. opposition leaders Jeremy Corbyn and Vince Cable said. “It would be completely wrong to have this man visit the U.K. on a state visit.”
At the United Nations, Secretary General Antonio Guterres spoke out against the “demons” of “irrationality” that undermine democratic values such as tolerance. “Racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or Islamophobia are…poisoning our societies,” Guterres told reporters Wednesday. “And it is absolutely essential for us all to stand up against them everywhere and every time.”
Trump’s comments are especially sensitive in Germany, which still struggles with neo-Nazi elements decades after the U.S. and its allies crushed the German Nazis in World War II.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had earlier expressed disgust with the neo-Nazi and white supremacist demonstrators who gathered in Virginia. There were no immediate reports of Merkel reacting to Trump’s Tuesday remarks, in which he claimed there were “many fine people” on both sides of the clashes.
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World leaders condemn Trump's remarks on neo-Nazis https://t.co/YsBSmGObsW pic.twitter.com/oS7Rd4CzWD
— POLITICO (@politico) August 16, 2017
Yeah, I agree that they are obnoxious, but then, so are the BLM and the other leftist rioters who opposed them. No moral equivalency? Neither have morals…period! They are BOTH equally wrong.
Pray for righteousness to be restored and for the peace of Jerusalem
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