Hollande Backs Clinton: Trump Would Hurt US Ties With Europe

French President Francois Hollande addresses the nation at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. With explosions and gunfire, security forces ended a three-day terror rampage around Paris, killing... French President Francois Hollande addresses the nation at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. With explosions and gunfire, security forces ended a three-day terror rampage around Paris, killing the two al-Qaida-linked brothers who staged a murderous rampage at a satirical newspaper, and an associate who seized a kosher supermarket to try to help them escape. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, Pool) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

French President Francois Hollande has broken tradition and come out in support of Hillary Clinton, warning that Donald Trump could damage the United States’ relationship with the European Union.

“The best thing the Democrats can do is to get Hillary Clinton elected,” Hollande told French newspaper Les Echos in an interview published Thursday, according to Bloomberg News.

He said that Trump “would complicate relations between Europe and the U.S.”

Hollande’s comments are unusual given that foreign leaders typically refrain form weighing in on foreign allies’ elections.

The French president said that Trump’s rhetoric is similar to that of the far right in Europe, specifically “fear of waves of immigrants, the stigmatization of Islam, the undermining of representative democracy and the denunciation of elites,” according to Bloomberg News.

And when asked by Les Echos if Trump would be “dangerous” as president, Hollande said “yes,” according to Newsweek.

Hollande also warned that Trump has a chance of winning the presidency, citing Great Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

“Those who say that Donald Trump could not possibly become the next president of the United States are the same ones who thought that Brexit would never be voted in,” he told Les Echos, according to Newsweek.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Republican outrage at FRANCE (insert long horror movie scream) in 4…3…2…1…

  2. Time for the congressional cafeteria to dig out the Freedom Fries recipe.
    Get on that, Paul Ryan.

  3. Well, of course he did.

  4. This won’t help. What does he think, he’s the Prime Minister of Israel?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

37 more replies

Participants

Avatar for bp Avatar for ignatius_donnelly Avatar for mbodlomane Avatar for harry_truman Avatar for kendyzdad Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for dv01 Avatar for imkmu3 Avatar for bluestatedon Avatar for chammy Avatar for navamske Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for brentwilson Avatar for mantan Avatar for frankly_my_dear Avatar for arrendis Avatar for twowolves Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for dnl Avatar for wagonmound Avatar for emilianoelmexicano Avatar for dommyluc Avatar for antisachetdethe Avatar for dannydorko

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: