Former President and now President-elect Donald Trump has sparked swift reactions from many of the world’s foremost leaders, igniting a debate on the impact of his administration on ongoing global conflicts.
In his victory speech, Trump said, “I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to stop wars…We had no wars, for four years we had no wars. Except we defeated ISIS,” reported CBS News.
The U.S. has been supporting Israel in its fight against Hamas militants in Gaza, but the Biden administration has pushed for cease-fires on both sides with little success. Under the upcoming Trump administration, policies shaping U.S. involvement and support in the conflict could change.
“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday. “This is a huge victory!”
Hamas leaders issued a statement with a more cautionary tone.
“Our position on the new U.S. administration depends on its stance and practical actions toward our Palestinian people and their legitimate rights,” the group said in the statement, per NewsX, adding that President-elect Trump would need to learn from Joe Biden’s “mistakes.”
It also remains to be seen how Trump will approach the nearly three-year-long war between Ukraine and Russia, in which the U.S. has been providing billions of dollars worth of military support and aid to Ukraine. In the past, Trump has said that he could “quickly” end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Trump on an “impressive election victory,” adding that he was looking forward to “an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership.” He said his country was interested in “developing mutually beneficial political and economic cooperation that will benefit both of our nations.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Trump has often lauded publicly, had not issued a statement on the U.S. presidential election at the time this article was published. A Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told Russian journalists that the U.S. is an “unfriendly country that is directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state.”
However, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would “work with the new Administration when it ‘settles’ in the White House, firmly defending Russian national interests and focusing on achieving all the goals of the special military operation,” reported CBS.
Hungary’s far-right leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whom Trump has described as a friend, was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump, calling his presidential win a “much-needed victory for the World!” reported CBS.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Trump on his “historic election victory,” adding that he is looking forward to “working with you in the years ahead.”
“I know that the US-UK special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come,” Starmer commented.
U.K.’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who has previously called Trump a “tyrant in a toupee” and a “racist and KKK/neo-Nazi sympathizer,” likewise focused his comments on the relationship between the two allied countries.
“The U.K. has no greater friend than the U.S., with the special relationship being cherished on both sides of the Atlantic for more than 80 years,” Lammy said, reported LondonlovesBusiness.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s social media post gained traction on Wednesday, with some questioning whether the wording in his statement was an unfortunate translation gaffe or a deliberate backhanded smack at Trump, per HuffPost.
“Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump. Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity,” Macron posted on X.
His use of the word “convictions”—Trump has 34 felony convictions—drew the attention of other social media users.
“Trying to work out if Macron has actually achieved Boss Level troll status by mentioning Trump’s ‘convictions,'” responded user Bear Bad Man.