LONDON / MOSCOW: British Prime Minister Theresa May congratulated Donald Trump on his victory today in the US presidential election, saying Britain and America had an “enduring and special relationship”.
“I would like to congratulate Donald Trump on being elected the next US president following a hard-fought campaign. Britain and the United States have an enduring and special relationship based on values of freedom, democracy and enterprise,” May said in a statement issued by Downing Street.
“We are, and will remain, strong and close partners on trade, security and defence. I look forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump, building on these ties to ensure the security and prosperity of our nations in the years ahead,” she said. She has in the past, as UK home secretary, criticised Republican Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the US as “divisive, unhelpful and wrong”. “I just think it shows he does not understand the UK and what happens in the UK,” she had said in reference to his claims that police in London feared entering some parts of the city due to ghettoisation. Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn described the US election result as an “unmistakable rejection of a political establishment”. “This is a rejection of a failed economic consensus and a governing elite that has been seen as not to have listened. And the public anger that has propelled Donald Trump to office has been reflected in political upheavals across the world,” he said in his statement. He, however, stressed that he did not agree with all of Trump’s views. “But some of Trump’s answers to the big questions facing America, and the divisive rhetoric around them, are clearly wrong. I have no doubt, however, that the decency and common sense of the American people will prevail, and we send our solidarity to a nation of migrants, innovators and democrats,” he added. Other leading figures from the UK also reacted to the news that the American billionaire will take over as the 45th President of the US. “I believe passionately in the importance of the UK-US relationship and am confident we can take it forward together,” said Boris Johnson, UK foreign secretary. Some others were more candid in their shock with Caroline Lucas, the UK’s Green Party co-leader, describing the win as a “dark day”. She said, “On this dark day we extend the hand of friendship to people in the USA who wake up in fear we know that you are not defined by the hatred espoused by your new president”. “But it’s at times like this when we need to unite, learn, resist and hope more than ever before. Today, in whatever ways we can, let’s light a candle rather than curse the darkness”. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on his victory in US elections, hoping to work with him to improve relations, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin “expressed hope for mutual work on bringing US-Russia relations out of their critical condition as well as on working out outstanding issues on the international agenda” in his congratulatory telegram, the Kremlin said. “The President of Russia also expressed certainty that building constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington” would “be in the interest of the people of our countries and the entire world community.” Putin has tacitly supported Trump during the campaign, while Trump repeatedly flattered and praised the Russian leader and said he was willing to work with him. Russia’s parliament today broke into applause upon learning of Trump’s stunning upset victory over Hillary Clinton, who is seen as anti-Russian by many in the Russian establishment, mostly due to her stint as Secretary of State in 2009-2013. Canadian immigration website crashed repeatedly today amid Donald Trump’s rising prospects for winning the US presidency, prompting many on social media to relate the two developments. As election night in the US wore on, with Trump posting big gains in key battleground states, Canada’s immigration website crashed, media reports said. “There’s no guarantee the two things are related, but given the loud insistence of many Americans, every election cycle, to move north in the event of an unfavourable election outcome, it’s not a huge leap to assume that many despondent voters are exploring options,” CNN said. Data from Google Trends also suggested searches for ‘move to Canada’ spiked significantly during the night as Trump victories unfolded in key battle states such as Florida and Ohio. The two developments widely trended on social media with people mocking the two developments. Countless jokes about people fleeing the country over the election results circulated on social media. Actor and comedian Ben Schwartz could not believe he’d been beaten to the punch. “I was gonna write this as a joke but found out it was real. The Canada Citizenship and Immigration site crashed around 8 PM” #electionnight,” he wrote. Others pointed to the website’s crashing as part of a wider theme of signs that Trump’s victory was inevitable. “Where we stand right now: DOW futures are down 750. The dollar is plummeting. And Canada’s immigration website just crashed,” a netizen said. On a serious note, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is one of several world leaders who have criticised Trump in the past. One of the biggest differences between Trump and Trudeau are their views on the refugee crisis in Syria. In a stunning result, Trump today beat seasoned politician Hillary Clinton in the knife-edge polls, defying the odds to become the 45th US President after starting off as a rank political outsider. It was a heart-break for Democratic nominee Clinton, who was hoping to become the first woman president of the US, as Trump edged past her in a see-saw battle which he clinched by winning 288 electoral college votes to Clinton’s 215.–PTI
