World Reaction to Trump’s Victory Bodes Well for America

World Reaction to Trump’s Victory Bodes Well for America

When the opening bell rang on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning, the message was clear: The markets were very happy with President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory and stock prices soared to record levels.

But not everyone was happy. Understandably, the tyrants of the world, who have grown accustomed to weak leadership in the U.S. over the past four years, were enraged.

Outwardly, the Chinese projected a posture of indifference. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters, “Our policy towards the U.S. is consistent. We will continue to view and handle China-U.S. relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful co-existence and win-win cooperation.”

#China‘s policy toward the United States remains consistent and Beijing will continue to view and handle China-US #relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. #trump pic.twitter.com/rfRjcnVBQ2

— Peaceful prosperity (互fo） (@jiajiajianjian) November 6, 2024

Privately, however, CCP leadership is said to be “rattled.” Fox News spoke to several China experts who unanimously agree that “the next four years under President-elect Trump will almost certainly worsen already strained ties.”

National Taiwan University professor Yuan Juzheng told Fox he’d just returned to Taiwan from a trip to China and that “nearly everyone he met with wanted to talk about the U.S. election.” He described Trump’s victory as a “worst-case scenario” for Beijing.

Trump’s frequent talk on the campaign trail about tariffs has made them anxious. Yuan said that when Trump hit Chinese companies with tariffs in 2018, China had “not been prepared psychologically.”

According to Reuters, the effect of new tariffs on China would be even worse today because the Chinese economy is weaker. In addition, Trump is considering higher tariff rates “than the 7.5%-25% levied on China” in 2018.

#Trump's victory is going to bring tough days for the Chinese economy because he has made it pretty clear that if aggression in the #SCS is going to affect the global economy, then better it to choke the source of all the nonsense. 1/5 @AdamRen @yuceltanay53 @bobpickettsr @93ip pic.twitter.com/dGSyLkXpbr

— Ethan Hughes (@EthanHughe10260) November 7, 2024

Bucknell University professor Zhiqun Zhu told Fox, “Three key issues will continue to dominate the U.S.-China relationship. They are the three T’s — trade, technology and Taiwan.”

Regarding Xi’s well-known plan to annex Taiwan, in an October interview with the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, Trump said he would not have to use military force because Xi “respects me and he knows I’m (expletive) crazy.”

While Trump’s unpredictability is a powerful deterrent to our enemies, nobody knows quite how far Xi is willing to go when it comes to Taiwan.

Still, I think it’s safe to say he won’t be sending a high-tech spy balloon over the U.S. anytime soon.

Taiwan officials would still say they see “more pros than cons” if Trump said the U.S. would stop sending military support to Taiwan. The fact is they depend on U.S. support too much, which makes the island a pawn for the U.S. in its rivalry with China. pic.twitter.com/CjXQZunIKX

— Xiaohui Wang 王晓辉 (@wangxh65) November 7, 2024

The Iranians did not take news of Trump’s victory well either. Fox reported that they posted a video to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Telegram channel that contained a new threat to kill Trump. It featured an image of “a bloodied Trump” with the caption, “We will finish the job.” 

Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu told Fox that Iranian leaders are said to be “terrified” by Trump’s victory. Noting that Iran’s currency had fallen to an all-time low on Wednesday, he said, “The regime knows it can ill afford more exogenous economic shocks. Even the return of maximum pressure alone to the Islamic Republic is going to cause major, major economic problems.”

For some perspective on how much damage Trump’s hardline on Iran [during his first term] has inflicted on the country’s economy since then, the rial traded at 32,000 to $1 at the time of the 2015 nuclear deal. Traders in Tehran told Fox it dipped to 703,000 rials to the dollar on Wednesday “before recovering slightly later in the day.”

Greg Sheridan, foreign editor for The Australian, spoke to Sky News on Thursday to discuss the geopolitical implications of Trump’s return to the presidency. He said that both Xi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “have a lot to worry about.”

“Trump is a disaster for Albanese. He’s going to undermine his energy policy. … How can you argue that Australians should bankrupt themselves to go green when the two biggest economies in the world, China and America, will be full steam ahead on fossil fuel? Trump is sometimes very cynical about Taiwan, but his underlying message that allies have to do more for themselves is very strong.”

Trump’s reelection has enormous geopolitical implications for all nations. The Biden-Harris administration’s reckless decision to abruptly withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 set into motion an unstoppable sequence of events that diminished America’s standing in the world order and made the entire world a more dangerous place.

But we’re on our way back. Our enemies four-year reprieve is coming to an end. And that is a tremendous relief.

Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.

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