Nov. 6 (UPI) — Messages of congratulations began pouring in from political leaders around the world early Wednesday after former President Donald Trump declared victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris at his West Palm Beach, Florida, watch party at around 2.30 a.m. EST.
Trump’s friend and supporter, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was one of the earliest to fire off his felicitation, saying Trump had pulled off “the biggest comeback in U.S. political history!”
“Congratulations to President Donald Trump on his enormous win. A much-needed victory for the World!” he wrote in a post on X.
Those words were followed in short succession by messages from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also has a close relationship with the president-elect, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the leaders of France, Italy and Germany.
The embattled Israeli leader’s message, personally addressed to “Donald and Melania,” mined a similar vein to Orban’s but elevated it still further, hailing Trump’s feat as the biggest fightback ever.
“Dear Donald and Melania Trump, Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback! Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America,” Netanyahu wrote. “This is a huge victory! In true friendship, yours, Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu.”
From London, Starmer congratulated Trump on his “historic election victory,” saying he was looking forward to working with a new Trump administration.
“I look forward to working with you in the years ahead. As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise,” he said in a statement posted on social media.
“From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the U.K.-U.S. special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”
Starmer’s Labor administration, which came into office after a landslide victory in a July general election, did not get off to the best start in its relationship with the new U.S. president, with Trump’s campaign filing a complaint in October of illegal foreign election interference with the Federal Election Commission alleging Labor was paying British activists to travel to the United States to campaign for Harris.
Congratulating Trump on social media, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was ready to work with Trump again as they did for four years during his first presidency while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz extended his compliments, vowing in a message posted on X to continue German-U.S efforts “promoting prosperity and freedom on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sent “sincere congratulations to the president-elect” of what she said was Italy’s “sister nation,” from herself and the Italian government.
“Italy and the United States are ‘sister’ nations, linked by an unshakable alliance, common values, and a historic friendship. It is a strategic bond, which I am sure we will now strengthen even further,” Meloni wrote in a post on X. “Good work Mr. President.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Trump while emphasizing the strong transatlantic bond which she said was critical to keep working on for the benefit of the peoples of both the European Union and the United States.
“I warmly congratulate Donald J. Trump. The EU and the US are more than just allies. We are bound by a true partnership between our people, uniting 800 million citizens. So let’s work together on a strong transatlantic agenda that keeps delivering for them,’ she said in a post on X.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for whom Tuesday’s result could prove highly consequential in his two-and-half-year military struggle to expel invading Russian forces from Ukrainian territory, extended warm wishes to Trump on his “impressive” win — but reminded him of the importance of U.S. support for Ukraine.
“Congratulations to Donald Trump on his impressive election victory! I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine,” he wrote on X.
“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.”
Zelensky added that Ukraine looks forward to “an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership” as he was “looking forward to personally congratulating President Trump and discussing ways to strengthen Ukraine’s strategic partnership with the United States.”
“We rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States. We are interested in developing mutually beneficial political and economic cooperation that will benefit both of our nations,” he said.
Zelennsky also noted that Ukraine, “as one of Europe’s strongest military powers, is committed to ensuring long-term peace and security in Europe and the Transatlantic community with the support of our allies,” in an apparent reference to his offer to station Ukrainian troops across Europe in deployments currently fulfilled by the U.S. military in exchange for fast-tracking Ukraine into NATO after the war ends.
The reaction from Moscow was muted, notable in its caution and radio silence from President Vladimir Putin.
The only comment was Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who the state-run TASS news agency quoted as saying the administration would adopt a wait-and-see stance “evaluating Donald Trump as U.S. president based on his initial statements on topics related to Russia and his first actions.”
“We will primarily make conclusions based on [Trump’s] statements on issues that are on our agenda, when we receive them, and on his first concrete steps,” he said.
Peskov stressed that from Russia’s viewpoint, sitting President Joe Biden remained in the office of president and would continue to fulfill his executive role until the end of the year.
The reaction from Beijing, which Trump has threatened with a sharp hike in tariffs on its U.S. imports, was also muted with Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning saying only that the presidential election was the United States’ “internal affair,” that the Chinese government “respected the choice of the American people” and that it would not affect its policy on the United States.
“China’s policy on the U.S. is consistent. We will continue to view and handle our bilateral relations under the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,” she said at the ministry’s regular press briefing Wednesday.
Mao refused to be drawn on how China was preparing for the possibility of higher tariffs — which would push up the price of Chinese-made goods in the U.S. market — saying the foreign affairs ministry dealt in facts, not hypotheticals.
She said China would respond to the result to when it was formally finalized in “the customary practice.”
