Greens/EFA group reacts to Trump victory

Commenting on the result of the US presidential election, Greens/EFA co-president Philippe Lamberts said:

"The American people have taken their decision and the whole world will have to live with it. But we cannot hide our fear of the consequences. Donald Trump has fought a campaign based on racism, on division, on sexism and on hatred. We can only hope that his presidency will not continue in the same vein.

"It is important that we in Europe do not allow ourselves to be complacent. We face many of the same challenges seen in the US, with populist, right-wing leaders gaining mass support and attention. We need to ensure that they are defeated, both at the ballot box, and in the court of public opinion."

 Greens/EFA member of the European Parliament's US delegation Reinhard Bütikofer added:

 "The man who, so we thought, could not be US president will be US president. Donald Trump's narrow victory in the electoral college signals one of the biggest defeats that American democracy has ever suffered. Donald Trump, who throughout his campaign made it abundantly clear that he does not respect the values of American democracy, has been entrusted with the great powers that the office of President of the United States grants.

 "American democracy was in a dismal state before. Now it will be fighting for survival.

 "The presidency of Donald Trump also relegates the West as we knew it to the realm of the past. If Donald Trump pursues the foreign policies that he announced during his campaign he will severely undermine transatlantic relations, international rule of law and world peace. For Europe, the imperative is an extremely challenging one: in the middle of all our internal turmoil and our external woes we must move quickly to build much stronger unity if we do not want to allow the fallout of the Trump presidency to undermine Europe's future."