LONDON ā The verdict of U.S. voters was more decisive than most pollsters and pundits had predicted. Now the world waits to see whether the election of Donald Trump as president for a second time will prove as destabilizing as many American allies fear.
Trump secured victory Wednesday when he surpassed the 270 electoral college votes needed to win. In a victory speech before the official declaration, he vowed to āput our country firstā and bring about a āgolden ageā for America.
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Trumpās first term saw him insult and alienate many of the United Statesā longstanding allies. His return to the White House, four years after losing office to President Joe Biden, has huge consequences for everything from global trade to climate change to multiple crises and conflicts around the world.
Trump has pledged to ramp up a tariff feud with China, the United Statesā growing economic and strategic rival. In the Middle East, Trump has pledged, without saying how, to end the conflicts between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah. He has also vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office ā something Ukraine and its supporters fear would be on terms favorable to Moscow.
Hereās how leaders and others around the world are reacting:
NATO is nervous and Ukraine is anxious
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte congratulated Trump, saying, āI look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATOā in the face of āa growing number of challenges globally,ā including āthe increasing alignment of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.ā
Trump was a strong critic of the North Atlantic military alliance during his first term, accusing its other members of failing to pull their weight. Earlier this year he said the United States would not defend NATO members that donāt meet defense spending targets. Trump wants European allies to boost their own military spending to rely less on U.S. deterrence, but some European leaders and diplomats have expressed fears that he fundamentally lacks commitment to NATO.
Rutte emphasized the positive, praising Trump for his work persuading member states to ramp up defense spending and saying NATO was now āstronger, larger, and more united.ā
Americaās allies are ā belatedly, some say ā grappling with what to do if they cannot depend on the U.S. for their defense.
āThe existential concern for Europeans has been what happens to Ukraine, what happens to Europeās security, what happens to Americaās commitment to NATO?ā said Leslie Vinjamuri, director of the U.S. and Americas program at the think tank Chatham House. āWill America be there for Europe?ā
The U.S. is by far Kyivās biggest military backer as it battles Russian invasion, though the Biden administration resisted pressure from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to do even more. Zelenskyy, like Rutte, said he welcomed Trumpās āpeace through strengthā approach.
āThis is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer,ā Zelenskyy wrote on social media. āI am hopeful that we will put it into action together. We look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under President Trumpās decisive leadership.ā
Zelenskyy later wrote that he had spoken to Trump and congratulated him on āhis historic landslide victoryāhis tremendous campaign made this result possible. I praised his family and team for their great work. We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.ā
No congratulations were forthcoming from Moscow, where President Vladimir Putinās spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, declared that Russia-U.S. relations were at the ālowest point in history.ā
European congratulations mask deep divisions
European leaders rushed to congratulate Trump even before his victory was officially declared ā some more effusively than others.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it a āhistoric election victoryā and said that āas the closest of allies, the U.K. and U.S. will continue to work together to protect our shared values of freedom and democracy.ā
Like governments of U.S. allies around the world, Starmerās center-left administration has worked hard to forge ties with Trump and his team. Starmer had dinner with Trump at Trump Tower in September.
Franceās centrist President Emmanuel Macron offered congratulations, ārespect and ambition.ā Social Democratic German Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated Trump and said he wanted continued close ties, even if āsurely many things will be different under a Donald Trump-led administration.ā
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose far right-led government is in some ways close to Trump politically, said Italy and the U.S. had a āstrategic bond, which I am sure we will now strengthen even more.ā
European leaders are keen to stress that the transatlantic relationship transcends individual politicians, but Trumpās protectionist economic leanings are causing concern. During his last term he slapped tariffs on European steel and aluminum, roiling the blocās economy.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the EU and the U.S. "are bound by a true partnership between our people, uniting 800 million citizens. Let us work together on a transatlantic partnership that continues to deliver for our citizens.ā
Europeās populist politicians, meanwhile, welcomed the victory of a kindred spirit.
āThey threatened him with prison, they took his property, they wanted to kill him ... and he still won,ā said Hungaryās nationalist Prime Minister Viktor OrbĆ”n, who will hold a summit in Budapest for some 50 European leaders on Thursday.
A Middle East in turmoil awaits Trumpās moves
During his first term, Trump pushed to remake the Middle East by reconciling Israel and Saudi Arabia, and all eyes now are on how he intervenes in the regionās raging conflicts between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon ā and the chief backer of the two militant groups, Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trumpās election win āhistoryās greatest comeback.ā
āYour historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!ā he wrote on social media.
Trump and Netanyahu ā a fellow conservative nationalist ā had a tight relationship during the former presidentās first term, but the ties soured when Netanyahu congratulated President Joe Biden on winning in 2020.
Netanyahuās inner circle hopes Trump will allow Israel free rein against its enemies, but the president-elect is famously unpredictable, and the Israeli leader faces strong opposition at home. On Tuesday he fired popular Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a surprise announcement that sparked protests across the country.
Hamas issued a terse statement saying, āOur position on the new U.S. administration depends on its positions and practical behavior towards our Palestinian people, their legitimate rights and their just cause.ā
Washington is one of the key mediators of so-far unsuccessful Gaza cease-fire talks. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, another key player in regional peace efforts who had close ties to Trump during his first administration, said Egypt looked forward āto arriving together at achieving peace and preservation of stability in the region.ā
Other African leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, also sent congratulations.
The challenge of China still looms
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the U.S. and China to manage their differences and get along in a new era in a congratulatory message to Trump.
He told Trump that history has shown that both sides gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, according to Chinese state media.
But analysts in China were pessimistic, citing the likelihood of escalating tariffs and an intensifying confrontation over Taiwan.
āIt is not all dark, but there are more challenges than opportunities,ā said Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing. āWe are clear about the challenges. As for opportunities, we are yet to see them clearly.ā
Long-seething territorial disputes in the South China Sea are a fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry in Asia and likely will remain a major foreign policy concern for the next American president.
Asian leaders apprehensive about Chinaās growing clout and North Korea's nuclear program, clamored for Trumpās attention in congratulatory messages.
āI hope to closely cooperate with President-elect Trump to further elevate Japan-U.S. alliance and relations to even higher levels,ā Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the Korea-U.S. alliance āwill shine brighter,ā under Trump's āstrong leadership."
But Phillips OāBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, said Washingtonās allies in the Indo-Pacific, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and even Australia, ācan no longer look for the U.S.A. to be a reliable partner in defense.ā
Neighbors hope for good relations
The United Statesā neighbors in the Americas, some of whom bore the impact of Trump's protectionist instincts during his first term, also braced for uncertainty.
Mexicoās President Claudia Sheinbaum told Mexicans āthere is no reason to worry,ā despite Trumpās previous threats to impose trade tariffs on Mexican products unless the country does more to stem the flow of migrants and drugs to the U.S.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ā previously derided by Trump as āweakā and ādishonestā ā wrote on X: āThe friendship between Canada and the U.S. is the envy of the world. I know President Trump and I will work together to create more opportunity, prosperity, and security for both of our nations.ā
Brazilās left-leaning President Luiz InĆ”cio Lula da Silva congratulated Trump ā despite having endorsed Kamala Harris days ago.
āDemocracy is the voice of the people and must always be respected,ā Lula said on X.
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Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this story.