It is not a stretch to wonder whether the kind of political message that was so powerful in the referendum – featuring a harsh critique of free trade and a demands to “take our country back” – could prove just as effective among blue-collar workers in rust belt states in the United States. “I said this was going to happen and I think that it’s a great thing”, he told reporters on Friday, according to media reports.
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“I said this was going to happen and I think that it’s a great thing”, said Trump, who weeks ago said he would be inclined to leave the EU.
“I think I see a big parallel”, Trump said.
“But for traveling and for other things, I think it could very well turn out to be positive”. They want to have independence in a sense. “Some don’t like (it) and some do like it”. “All over the world they’re angry”.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the ruling Scottish National Party in the devolved Scottish Parliament, immediately launched a new drive for independence after Scotland voted overwhelmingly to Remain in the European Union but were outvoted by the larger population in the rest of the UK.
“The people of the United Kingdom have exercised the sacred right of all free peoples”, Trump said in a statement.
The Republican described the Leave vote as a “great thing” and said Britons have “taken back their country”. Trump said that would not be the case in a Trump presidency.
President Barack Obama’s decision to come to Britain and weigh in favor of the “remain” campaign may have caused its defeat, Trump said.
Trump aides began using what appeared to be the candidate’s trademark “Make America Great Again” hats to gather up the balls scattered in front of the podium, but Trump began addressing the press before they could all be cleared away.
He noted that Cameron had been defeated in the Brexit vote, and had made a decision to step down as prime minister.
USA elected officials and presidential candidates traveling overseas have typically stuck to the longstanding tradition that “politics stops at the water’s edge” and declined to express criticism of US policies and politicians while overseas.
But that tradition has faltered as of late, and Trump isn’t the first to break with precedent.
Republicans had cautioned that Trump, who has yet to hold public office and rates unfavorably with 70 percent of Americans in an opinion poll, risked making a foreign policy misstep at a time when Republican leaders are urging a more serious demeanor.
The campaign leading to Thursday’s stunning vote for Britain to leave the European Union shared some of the nationalist, populist themes driving Trump’s campaign, including a wariness of immigration, concern about borders and skepticism of the value of multinational organizations. “He’s constantly dictating what the world should do”, he said. “The world doesn’t listen to him”.
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He used the time to pitch his property, pointing to a lighthouse in the background and commenting on the resort’s “beautiful suites”, calling the course “one of the most attractive sites you’ll ever see”. Scotland’s first minister, for instance, suggested the country’s future was in the European Union, while far-right parties in France and the Netherlands said they should hold their own referendums on leaving.
