This is part of a series of profiles on leading candidates of the major parties to be their nominees for the US Presidency.To see the rest of Global Citizen coverage please go here.
Business man, reality television star, member of the global rich and potentially the next Republican Party nominee for the Presidency of the United States of America. Donald Trump was already a global figure before the 2016 campaign got started, but his political profile was not a big part of his public persona.
That all changed as Trump charged into the race. From his bombastic rhetoric to his laser-like focus that HE is the one to “make America great again,” he has arguably defined this election cycle more than any other candidate.
Here is how he stacks up on some of the issues global citizens care about.
Refugees and Immigration
“The US has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems.”
Trump made early headlines in his campaign when he lashed out at illegal immigrants (and arguably Mexicans or even Latinos in general) calling illegal immigrants rapists and criminals.
Refugees from Syria “could be ISIS ... and by the way, it is turning out that they probably are ISIS. There's so many men, they're so young, they are very strong. Where are the women? Where are the children?
“The Donald” has gone so far as to call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. A press release stated:
"Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."
He has publicly claimed that he has good working relationships with many Latinos, and has even claimed he will win the Latino vote in the 2016 election.
In a somewhat surprising turn, he recently has said that “I don't care how they come in, if they come in legally.” Which could show some room for negotiation on an improved path to citizenship as part of an immigration overhaul.
Then again, he did say this: “I will build the wall and Mexico is going to pay for it and they’ll be happy to pay for it because Mexico is making so much money from the United States that that’s going to be peanuts.”
Foreign Aid
“It is necessary that we invest in our infrastructure, stop sending foreign aid to countries that hate us and use that money to rebuild our tunnels, roads, bridges and schools—and nobody can do that better than me.”
“Pakistan’s a real problems because they have nuclear weapons…I would say we don’t give them any more money unless they get rid of their nuclear weapons.”
While foreign aid has not played a huge role in the 2016 campaign so far, Trump’s statements seem to outline a policy of using aid dollars as major levers for the changes he wants. He has also defined some long-standing allies, like Egypt, as enemy nations that would no longer receive aid--marking a big change to current US policy.
National Security
“I'm pro-military but I opposed invading Iraq in 2003.”
“If Obama had attacked Syria, we wouldn't have refugees now.”
“Strengthen military, but act defensively.”
Trump has been a major supporter of the US military. His rhetoric has indicated he would take a hardline stance on international issues and prioritize strength over diplomacy. Including dismissing the recent nuclear deal with Iran as “disgraceful.”
Overall he tends more isolationist by advising to avoid foreign entanglements. This could indicate that aid overall would be scaled back as the US would pull back from various conflict zones while still maintaining a strong military. Including in this seems to be support for actually expanding the military, including refreshing the US nuclear arsenal which he says “doesn’t work” due to its age.
Climate Change
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012The Republican front runner has made his rejection of climate change repeatedly clear. His approach here is counter the larger scientific community but in line with some of his supporters in the United States.
He has a pro business approach to development. and has at times surprised many of his followers and critics by finding ways to work with environmentalist. Here is an excerpt from the book Think Like a Champion, by Donald Trump.
Trade
“Restrict free trade to keep jobs in US.”
Donald Trump is vehemently opposed to free trade deals. He believes that the United States is being beaten by other nations like China, Japan and even Mexico. He puts his blame squarely on US negotiators in these deals:
“Disastrous deals because we don’t have smart negotiators.”
And when he is not blaming US negotiators he is putting the blame for a lack of jobs on China’s shoulders, claiming the nation must act to “repatriate jobs that China has been stealing.” And within this mess he believes that he has the answer to fixing all of the “problems” past trade deals have caused.
“China and Japan are beating us; I can beat China.”
Trump’s extensive experience in business puts him in a rare position in the electoral field to have dealt with trade deals exclusively from a business perspective. This experience has informed his stance but also left him blind to some of the larger benefits these deals have brought the world.
Arguably trade creates peace and development. It creates peace by giving nations a large economic incentive to maintain at least generally stable relations so that trade can continue. This imperative has allowed historically wayward nations to join the international community and begin adopting globalized norms in business, economics, politics and even human rights (China is a KEY example of this).
Further, trade has empowered developing nations to massively increase their economies lifting millions of people out of poverty through business development rather than aid.
Trade is an important part of the Global Goals and ending extreme poverty by 2030. Donald Trump’s dislike of trade deals could put much of the expected gains from global trade at risk.
How the world sees Trump
Donald Trump claims that his stature as a global business icon and deal maker would allow him to work with people like Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also says he can work with the Chinese despite being antagonistic about their aims.
His deal making aside, Trump has become a flashpoint for many other nation’s politicians with the UK parliament formally debating a travel ban on Trump for his rhetoric.
Donald Trump is one of the more globally recognized and controversial candidates in the 2016 election, yet his rhetoric and passionate approach is resonating with voters. It will be interesting to see how his national popularity works in state level primaries.