US elections: David Cameron deserved his slapdown – his cosy politics won’t wash with Trump
Donald Trump’s ability to offend both individuals and mass groups of people should not come as a surprise to anyone anymore.
That said, while what he says no longer shocks me (that’s not a challenge, Donald), it often upsets me, and causes me to empathise with the groups targeted. His accusation that Mexican immigrants are rapists was deplorable; his comments about women have been very uncomfortable; and his insults about the other candidates’ looks – well, those have just been plain mean.
But while I’ve often joined the chorus of those who push back on Trump for his off-the-cuff remarks, I’m finding it hard to muster any kind of empathy for his latest target. Because in truth, I think Trump’s response to David Cameron – that the two may not get along come November given what the Prime Minister has said about Trump's policies – was exactly what Cameron needed to hear.
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Don’t get me wrong. I agree that Trump’s pledge to shutdown Muslim immigration is “divisive, stupid, and wrong”, and have said so many times. I also appreciate that, despite the delicate, political nature of his position, Cameron would feel compelled to speak out against Trump’s fundamentally wrong-headed proposal.
But the spat between the Prime Minister and the presidential nominee goes beyond this. It speaks to a larger issue – mainly the damage Cameron has done to the Special Relationship over the past few years by essentially trying to politicise it; he has meddled where he shouldn’t have.
Obama’s anti-Brexit trip to the UK a few weeks back was the not the first time Cameron orchestrated an uncomfortable boundary crossing. Just last year, the Prime Minister was ringing around Republican members of the Senate, encouraging them to rethink a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran. Cameron claimed the calls were “not in any way… to tell the American Senate what it should or should not do”, but that didn’t stop him from expressing his opinions on a US policy decision.
Cue Obama, 15 months later, taking a play from Cameron’s book. “The question of whether or not the UK remains a part of the EU is a matter for British voters to decide”, he penned in the Daily Telegraph, before committing his unwavering support to the Remain camp during the joint press conference with the Prime Minister (additionally throwing in a veiled trade threat if Britain were to vote to leave the EU).
These meddling moments go far beyond a personal friendship between the two men, and they go beyond an individual expressing their opinion on a subject matter up for debate (as an opinionated American residing abroad, I best not have a problem with this).
No, what these moments illustrate is the teaming up of the political elite, who fly each other back and forth across the pond to help enforce policies on people they don’t represent.
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UK politicians have spent their fair share of time debating and deriding Trump. Fine – there’s plenty to debate and plenty to deride. But like it or not, Trump’s support is a direct pushback on Cameron-esque elitism. Americans are tired of the political powers that be conspiring to implement what they think is best for everyone else. By nominating Trump, they haven’t just rejected the political status quo. They’ve banded together to blow up the status quo.
Cameron might want to take note. His relationship with a future President Trump should come second to his relationship with the British electorate. And they seem to be growing more restless by the day.