World leaders are taking comfort in President Obama’s public predictions that Donald Trump will not succeed him as commander-in-chief, a White House spokesman said on Monday.
“I think in the same way that the president has sought to reassure the American public that he does not believe Mr. Trump will be elected president, I think some of our partners now, around the world, take some solace in that too,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest responded when asked about the effect Trump’s rhetoric has on the U.S.’s reputation abroad.
“The world watches” the U.S.’s presidential campaigns, Earnest said. “And there are global consequences … for arguments that are made by domestic politicians.”
Amid reports of violence at several Trump rallies over the past week, Earnest echoed Obama’s remarks over the weekend that national Republican leaders bear responsibility for Trump’s rise and irresponsible remarks.
“[P]rominent Republican after prominent Republican [continues to] line up and pledge to support Mr. Trump if he is the party nominee,” Earnest said. “And for the life of me, I just don’t understand how they do that. It makes it a little hard to take seriously their hand-wringing about his divisive rhetoric and the kinds of messages that he’s delivering in the context of his political rallies.”
Earnest said Trump’s objective with his borderline hate speech is obvious, but said it’s “not clear at all what the rest of the Republican Party is up to.”
“[A]t some point, somebody in the Republican Party is going to have to step up and show some leadership; but we’ve been waiting a while,” he added.
Earnest said that as long as Republicans are following him, Trump has no reason to stop egging on supporters with violent tendencies.
It’s “hard to imagine Mr. Trump reaching a different conclusion as long as everybody in the Republican Party … continues to stand up and say they’ll support him if he’s the Republican nominee. Why would he change course?” Earnest asked.
