From the U.S. to parts of Europe, leaders of the far-right congratulated and praised Donald Trump’s electoral victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right Front National, was delighted on Wednesday as she took to the stage at her party’s headquarters to congratulate Trump.
WATCH: Van Jones rails against the ‘whitelash’ following Donald Trump’s election
Le Pen celebrated the U.S. election results and compared it to the U.K.’s approval of the Brexit referendum
“What happened last night was not the end of the world, it was the end of a world,” she told reporters. “The Americans gave themselves a president of their choosing and not the one that the establishment wanted them to rubber-stamp.”
READ MORE: Trudeau and world leaders react as Donald Trump becomes U.S. president-elect
A cornerstone of Trump’s platform focused on immigration and his pledge to build a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border. His call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States resonated with right-wing parties across the EU.
In the Netherlands, Geer Wilders – leader of the anti-immigration, anti-Muslim Freedom Party – said Trump’s victory would boost support for populist parties in Europe like his own.
“Trump winning proved to me that people are fed up with politically correct politicians who are concerned and involved with issues that regard themselves but not those that are important to the public,” Wilders said.
READ MORE: How will America heal from the nasty, violent race for president?
And in Greece, the Neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn said: “A major global change has begun and will continue with the victory of nationalists in Austria, Marine Le Pen in France and Golden Dawn in Greece.”
Meanwhile, David Duke, the former leader of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), called Trump’s surprise win “one of the most exciting nights of my life.”
Duke sent out several tweets Wednesday saying his supporters played a major part in paving Trump’s road to the presidency.
“Make no mistake about it, our people have played a HUGE role in electing Trump,” Duke tweeted.
The president-elected faced criticism early on in his campaign for failing to denounce the KKK and disavow Duke. Recently, the Trump campaign called an endorsement from the former KKK grand wizard “repulsive.”
Andrew Anglin, founder of the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer website, said a “new world has been born” following Trump’s win.
“Make no mistake about it: we did this. If it were not for us, it wouldn’t have been possible,” Anglin wrote. “We were with him every step of the way.”
*With files from Reuters
- Canadian-Israeli citizen dead in Egypt, local authorities say probe is open
- Cruise ship worker arrested, accused of stabbing 3 people with scissors
- RFK Jr. said worm ate part of his brain, died inside his head: 2012 deposition
- Siblings, ages 2 and 4, die after being swept away by river in California
Comments