World Reacts to Trump Indictment
Donald Trump speaks at a rally while on the campaign trail for the 2016 election. Photo: Nati Harnik / Associated Press
On Thursday March 30, former President Donald J. Trump was indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan regarding hush-money funds given to adult film star Stormy Daniels while Trump campaigned for President in 2015 and 2016. Trump is now the first and only former President of the United States to be indicted.
Trump is now expected to appear in court in New York for an arraignment of 34 charges, although the exact indictment remains unknown. The grand jury was convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump, who lives in Florida, is expected to peacefully surrender to the New York Police Department after flying into the city on April 3.
American opinions from across the nation on Trump’s indictment remain varied, but roughly 60 percent of Americans surveyed in a CNN poll supported the indictment. The poll also found that 34 percent of Americans view Trump favorably, while over 50 percent of Americans have an unfavorable outlook regarding Trump.
Trump’s indictment gained attention around the world, and foreign news outlets were quick to both celebrate the indictment and worry about its potential implications. In Germany, concerns were raised about the ramifications of the indictment on Trump’s “attack” on democratic institutions, suggesting that the indictment may fuel further assaults on America’s democracy. Italian papers stressed concerns about the potential for large-scale right wing violence in the wake of the indictment.
Likewise, France’s Le Monde relayed worries about the future of American democracy. Le Monde suggests that Trump “is about to put American democracy through another major test of its resilience” given that he remains the favorite to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, posted a series of tweets concerning the indictment. Bukele questioned how the United States would react if a similar indictment occurred to “a leading opposition presidential candidate here in El Salvador.” He went on to say that American foreign policy has lost its ability to condemn other nations for unfair elections and violations of democracy.
Bukele’s comments come in the context of a long history of American intervention in El Salvador. In 1979, Jimmy Carter assisted in a purge of left-wing officials in the new El Salvador government, a policy that received continued support under the Reagan administration. The United Nations found that over 75,000 Salvadorans were killed in the ensuing Salvadoran Civil War.
Donald Trump enters his car en route to Trump Tower on April 3, 2023. Photo: WABC / New York Post
Some outlets expressed a more positive outlook of the indictment. Canadian journalist Andrew Mitrovica, writing for Al Jazeera, opened his report on the topic by exclaiming “Hallelujah.” Mitrovica expressed that the indictment was an affirmation of “the rule of law” and that it would help strengthen the fragile American system. Der Spiegel, a German paper, boldly declared that Trump “had it coming.”
During his presidency, Trump found little global sympathy. While overall opinions on the United States remained positive during the Trump presidency, the Pew Research Center found that Trump himself had a deeply negative global approval rating. In America’s Western European allies, Trump has a 75 percent disapproval rating. In Mexico, Trump received a dismal 89 percent disapproval rating.
Global public opinion rebounded under the Biden administration, increasing 19 points from its Trump-era lows. It remains to be seen how the American public image will change following the indictment.