Ex-foreign secretary William Hague warns Britain must prepare for the ‘trauma and chaos’ of Donald Trump becoming US president again
Britain must prepare for the ‘trauma and chaos’ of Donald Trump becoming US president for a second time, Lord William Hague has warned.
The ex-foreign secretary, also a former Tory leader, put the chances of Mr Trump returning to the White House at ’50/50′.
It is widely expected the 77-year-old – who served in the Oval Office between 2017 and 2021 – will be the Republican candidate for next year’s election and will once again challenge Joe Biden for the presidency.
Lord Hague cautioned businesses and other Western nations they can’t ‘just wait’ and see whether Mr Trump is successful with a third election campaign.
He warned that Mr Trump, in a second spell as president, would appoint ‘spineless placemen’ to the FBI or other top jobs and imperil the ‘fragile crockery’ of American institutions.
Mr Trump could also withdraw US support for Ukraine, ‘disengage’ from NATO, resume a ‘naive fondness’ for global dictators, or scrap America’s climate policies, Lord Hague added.
Britain must prepare for the ‘trauma and chaos’ of Donald Trump becoming US president for a second time, Lord William Hague
The ex-foreign secretary, also a former Tory leader, put the chances of Mr Trump returning to the White House at ’50/50′
Lord Hague swiped that Joe Biden, at the age of 80, would probably ‘best help’ efforts to prevent Mr Trump returning as US president by ‘standing aside’ in 2024
‘A selection of these items alone would add up to the biggest geopolitical upheaval since the end of the Cold War,’ he wrote in a column for The Times.
Lord Hague added that a ‘radical isolationism’ in parts of American politics was being encouraged by Mr Trump and would ‘outlive him, and eventually come to power’.
He also warned that countries such as Russia and China were ‘preparing now’ for Mr Trump to return to power.
Russian president Vladimir Putin will ‘play for time’ and hope Mr Trump’s return as US president will see Western unity over Ukraine fall apart, while China will see ‘uncertainty and erratic signals’ from the White House as an opportunity to seize control of Taiwan, Lord Hague suggested.
‘Autocrats the world over will now be preparing their strategies with Trump in mind, and in some cases helping to get him into power,’ he added.
‘if dictators are preparing for Trump by playing it long and sowing discord, free nations need to speed up and reinforce their unity, as well as fortify their resilience in the event of shocks.
‘While we must persuade Americans that they need us, we also have to show them we can do more for ourselves.
‘The rest is up to them, and in particular for them to spare the world the trauma and chaos of a second Trump term.’
Lord Hague called for Western nations to prepare for a possible return of Mr Trump as US president by stepping up efforts to block ‘divisive social media material designed to weaken democracy’, to further increase military aid for Ukraine, and boost defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP for all NATO members.
He also outlined how a ‘coherent Western strategy for stability across north Africa’ should be drawn up – with or without US involvement – and demanded stronger defence ties with South Korea and Japan, and deeper foreign policy cooperation between Britain and the EU.
Carbon border taxes ‘ready for launch if the US abandons its net zero commitments’, reforms of the World Bank to help poorer countries, and international controls over the use of Artificial Intelligence should be developed, Lord Hague added.
He swiped that Mr Biden, at the age of 80, would probably ‘best help’ efforts to prevent Mr Trump returning as US president by ‘standing aside’ as the Democrat candidate in 2024.
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