German vice chancellor says Trump poses threat to peace and prosperity

[Lodestar]

Source: Reuters

German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has criticized leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as a right-wing populist whose political views pose a threat to peace and prosperity.

The comments by Gabriel, economy minister and leader of the Social Democrats, are the clearest sign yet that ruling politicians in Europe are increasingly worried about the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections.

"Whether Donald Trump, Marine le Pen or Geert Wilders - all these right-wing populists are not only a threat to peace and social cohesion, but also to economic development," Gabriel told Welt am Sonntag newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

Gabriel said that Trump and France's Le Pen were promising voters "a way back into a fairytale world" in which economic activity only happened within national borders but that history has shown such isolated economies have no chance to develop.

"We have to make the effort to explain how we want to shape globalisation in a fair way," Gabriel said.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-germany-idUSMTZSAPEC36LTD4ZC

[lark]

1. They can see the furher coming a mile away.

They've had the personal experience before and recognize the awful things that could happen under Trump. Too many in America are blind to the peril.

[geomon666]

2. Blind?

I think some people want an American Fuhrer.

[jwirr]

3. I am one of the Americans who is of pure German heritage

and I say "God damn Donald Trump and his stupid followers." One shameful Nazi act is more than enough. Many of us have taken a lifetime to forget that Hitler was our blood.

Beware, Trump, this how the Scots are going to feel about you.

[Diclotican]

4. Lodestar

Lodestar

I guess Germans know a few things about fascism, and the experience of what it can make when the go down in flames... And Trump are indeed an dangerous man, I have since last fall have the opinion that he is a fascist, maybe even a nazi - and that he used a lot of the same script that Hitler used on his rise to power - that hate many was feeling, the resentment and pure hate many had after loosing WW1, and the Weimar-republic who was a thorn in the sides of many "conservatives" back then.... And the crash in 1929/1930 sealed the deal, Hitler was given the chancellery - and 12 years later, the end come, in a raptured, destroyed Germany...

That can happened with US, if americans is so utter _stupid_ that they elect Trump as their next president- before "Scrub" I always be lived US would elect the best man, or women to the job - after "Scrub" got elected I lost that ability - and now I know that americans would be duped enough to elect the worst candidate - even if given the possibility to do the opposite...

But electing Trump, would do terrible damage to what is known as the US, maybe even destroy the country, divide it, destroy the fabric what was known as the United States of America... He might be the last president of the US, if worst was to come to reality....

But then, the other republican candidates are not mutch better off - it is the same fascist and regressive ideology all over the place...

Diclotican

[Lodestar]

6. Trump's ex-wife Ivana said he had a book of Hitler's speeches that he kept

on his bed stand, so that may be why he 'sounds' so much like Hitler. I don't think
Trump has the same ideological goals or passion of Hitler, so much as he is a salesman
who values persuasion. Not that I think he should in any way be given the
power and position of the presidency in this country, but he's not as scary to me as
Cruz and other people in the extreme conservative rightwing of the GOP who do have
ideological and policy agendas for reshaping this country in their image.

Trump does seem to attract those who prefer an authoritarian type leader and it is this
growing constituency that we must learn to deal with in new ways. They have a fear of
change and chaos and want someone who is simple but action-oriented. They don't want
subtle nuanced or complex solutions. This group is not going away anytime soon so this
country must work on how to provide them with a greater sense of security and vision of
a future with tangible steps in front of them to get there.

[GliderGuider]

5. Be this guy...

[pampango]

7. Guardian OpEd: From Trump to Merkel: how the world is divided between fear and openness

The Republican candidate and German chancellor are polar opposites in the key struggle of our age

Two major concepts define the political struggle in the west today. One can be termed “globalism”, which is currently most prominently represented by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. The other is “territorialism”, a view that the very likely Republican candidate for the US elections in November, Donald Trump, represents.

At the core of the debate is the meaning of borders: should they be porous or tightly controlled? Are they mainly an obstacle to the free and productive flow of ideas, people, goods and information and should therefore be largely dismantled? Or are massive borders welcome and indispensable as a protection against all kinds of real or perceived threats such as competition and terrorism?

For globalists such as Merkel, interconnectedness is a good thing because it is what drives progress towards more prosperity and freedom everywhere. For territorialists such as Trump, interconnectedness is mainly a threat. What is good and healthy is attributed to the natives and what is dangerous comes from outside: unfair Chinese competition, dangerous Mexican immigrants and Middle Eastern terrorists.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/06/donald-trump-angela-merkel-territorial-global-ulrich-speck

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Foreign diplomats voicing alarm to U.S. officials about Trump

Foreign diplomats are expressing alarm to U.S. government officials about what they say are inflammatory and insulting public statements by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, according to senior U.S. officials.

Officials from Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia have complained in recent private conversations, mostly about the xenophobic nature of Trump's statements, said three U.S. officials, who all declined to be identified.
...
The three officials declined to disclose a full list of countries whose diplomats have complained, but two said they included at least India, South Korea, Japan and Mexico.
...
“European diplomats are constantly asking about Trump's rise with disbelief and, now, growing panic," said a senior NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-foreign-idUSMTZSAPEC37O1O8W3