European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Thursday that former President Donald Trump's chances of being re-elected in 2024 pose a “threat” for Europe.
In an interview on French television, Lagarde criticized the Republican presidential front-runner, saying her return to the White House would damage relations between the United States and the European Union.
“If we take a lesson from history, from the way he (President Trump) carried out the first four years of his term, this is clearly a threat,” Lagarde told France 2 television.
“You just look at trade tariffs, you just look at his commitments on NATO, you just look at his stance on fighting climate change,” she added.
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European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde speaks to the media after the ECB's monetary policy meeting at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. (Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach)
In additional remarks, Lagarde expressed confidence that even if Trump were reelected this year, Congress would not allow him to cut off financial and military aid to Ukraine.
“We have to remember that even in a presidential system like the United States, parliament has a lot of power,” she said, according to the Telegraph.
Asked whether a second term for Trump would isolate Europe by supporting Ukraine, Lagarde said, “There are many people in the U.S. Congress who are deeply hostile to Russia's horrific war against Ukraine, and who are deeply hostile to Russia's horrific war against Ukraine.'' There are many members of Congress who continue to support them.” . ”
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
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Former President Donald Trump speaks to a crowd at a campaign rally in Summerville, South Carolina, on September 25, 2023. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
President Trump's first term, from 2017 to 2020, was marked by a confrontational, even hostile, attitude toward America's allies in Europe. In advocating an “America First” policy, President Trump has supported raising tariffs on foreign goods and accused NATO members of failing to meet their defense spending obligations under the alliance.
President Trump also broke with European leaders on climate change and pulled the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, a voluntary agreement that requires partner countries to set emissions reduction targets. President Trump has argued that the energy restrictions needed to meet these goals will cost American jobs and hurt the United States' ability to compete economically with Russia and China.
Regarding Ukraine, President Trump blamed President Biden's “weak” foreign policy for the Russian invasion during a Fox News town hall earlier this week.
Trump insisted that “there's nothing wrong with getting along with people who have hundreds of nuclear weapons,” suggesting that foreign leaders view the current commander-in-chief as “weak.”
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The European Union flag flies outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on September 28, 2022. (Reuters/Eve Herman//File Photo)
“You know, they want to make it seem like a bad thing. It's a very good thing. But peace through force. They didn't want chaos. That would never have happened in Ukraine. Russia “I would never have intervened. It would never have happened, and the recent attack on Israel would never have happened,” President Trump said.
President Trump said of Biden: “They see our president as weak. And they did the unthinkable. So we will have peace through force. We won't have to fight.” Ta.
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Trump maintains an overwhelming approval rating over his rivals ahead of Monday's Iowa caucuses and appears set on winning the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Fox News' Aubrie Spady and Reuters contributed to this report.
