Strengthening relations with the EU is vital to offset the dangers of Trump’s return to the White House

Waiting for the outcome of the American Presidential Election on Tuesday night was difficult for me. I felt an immense sense of dread, reminiscent of when Donald Trump first won the Presidential Election back in 2016.

It was the same feeling I had realising that the Leave camp had triumphed in the referendum for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (‘Brexit’) a few months prior. In fact, 2016 was a bad year all round given the number of people I loved passing. And so, the prospect of Trump winning the US Election again this week triggered a form of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) in me.

The fact that a majority of US voters have made the wrong choice again weighs heavy on me. I of course accept the democratic choice of the American people, but that does not mean that I have to like it.

I can respect the choice that voters made without respecting the words or actions of Donald Trump.

And so, as I watched the results from across America come in over the course of Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, I became sad and somewhat anxious sensing that the world has again become a somewhat darker and more dangerous place.

I fear that Trump’s election will put the people of Ukraine at risk. The brash ‘leader of the Free World’ may well think he can achieve peace by appeasing Putin in much the same way the former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain tried to appease Hitler. Yet such tyrannical leaders have no intention of honouring deals. Putin’s track record also makes that very clear.

Since becoming leader of Russia in 2000, Putin has overseen the invasion and occupation of parts of Georgia in 2008 before setting his sights on Ukraine, where he seized control of the Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk regions in 2014 and then launched a full scale invasion of the country eight years later.

The former KGB intelligence officer turned political despot has delusions of grandeur as he sets about creating a new Russian empire. Putin has previously compared himself to the empire-building eighteenth century Russian Tsar Peter the Great, whilst describing his annexation of Georgian and Ukrainian territory as “returning historically Russian lands.”

Giving away other people’s land for a false security is bad enough, but if Trump does force Ukraine to surrender to Russia by refusing to give the Slavic nation any further military assistance, then he will essentially be giving Putin or his successor the green light to go ahead and take the rest of Ukraine. And, as history has shown us time and again, that could well result in a genocide on the Ukrainian people, their culture, language, and freedom.

And sadly, such expansion will likely not stop there. An emboldened Russia could seize Belarus and other neighbouring states including Moldova, the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), and goodness knows where else.

Contrary to securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, I also think that Trump would relieve the political pressure on his pal Benjamin Netanyahu. It would allow the Israeli leader and his far-right coalition to continue the vicious military assault on Gaza and the Lebanon with devastating consequences on their respective populations, and then unlawfully occupy these territories, which in turn would lead to the destabilisation of the wider Middle East region.

While I accept the right of all sovereign countries to defend their citizens, while complying with international law, I worry that the unconstrained freedom that Trump will likely give Israel will end up with Palestinians and Israelis being far less safe.

It will cause more deaths in both the short term and the long term, and it will end up working as a recruiting sergeant for the terrorist organisations based in that part of the world.

Then there is the global economy. Trump has campaigned all through the Presidential election for tariffs to be added to imports to the USA. While these will be directly paid by US consumers, it will mean an increase of 20% for products made in the UK, France, and China, as well as the rest of the world, which in turn will lower demand for these non-American products.

The knock on effect to companies exporting to the US is lower sales and lower profits, which in turn will end up hurting both the US economy and the UK economy.

Another area of controversy when it comes to Trump in charge is his disdain for the rule of law and his propensity to misinform the American public on vital issues, whether it’s about voter fraud, migration, the United Nations or NATO.

It is likely that the President-Elect will continue to behave in this way when he returns to the White House early in 2025, adversely impacting issues and institutions both in the US and internationally. It behoves us to strengthen and support international organisations even if it means going against our old and special ally.

As Ed Davey, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, said following the confirmation of Trump’s electoral victory this week, “The world’s largest economy and most powerful military will be led by a dangerous, destructive demagogue”.

He rightly called for the UK to fix its “broken relationship with the EU”. Even if an immediate return to the EU as a Member State is out of the question for the UK right now, the need to strengthen trade, political and defence cooperation with our European partners is vital to our collective wellbeing, democracies and freedoms.

Such a move would not only bolster our security in Europe, but it would also give us a stronger voice in pushing for a just end to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, whilst reaffirming our support for the rule of law and international organisations. In this way, we can limit any potential harm the highly unpredictable Donald Trump may inflict on the wider world over the next four years.

Arran Angus is a local Liberal Democrat Campaigner for Grove Green