How US allies are preparing for a possible second Trump term

BERLIN/MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON — Germany is waging a charm offensive inside the Republican Party. Japan is lining up its own Trump whisperer. Mexican government officials are talking to Camp Trump. And Australia is busy making laws to help Trump-proof its US defense ties.

Everywhere, US allies are taking steps to defend or advance their interests in the event former President Donald Trump returns to power in November elections, an even chance based on recent opinion polls in swing states.

They want to avoid the cold slap that Trump’s “America First” policies dealt them last time around, which included trade wars, a shakeup of security alliances, an immigration crackdown and the withdrawal from a global climate accord.

Reuters spoke to diplomats and government officials in five continents about preparations for Trump 2.0. It uncovered Mexican deliberations over a new, Trump-savvy foreign minister, an Australian envoy’s role in rushing to protect a submarine deal, and a German official’s talks with Republican state governors.

Some foreign leaders have contacted Mr. Trump directly despite the risk of irking his election rival, Democratic President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Saudi’s crown prince recently phoned Mr. Trump, a source with knowledge of the conversation said; while Hungary’s prime minister and Poland’s president met him in person in recent weeks.

British Foreign Minister David Cameron also held talks with Mr. Trump this month at his Florida resort. He told reporters in Washington afterwards that his meeting was a private dinner where they discussed Ukraine, the IsraelGaza war, and the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The White House referred Reuters to comments by spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre in which she said meetings such as the one held by Cameron were not uncommon. She declined to answer questions about Mr. Trump’s meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán or the Saudi call, which was first reported by the New York Times.

The Saudi government’s media office and the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment about the call

The campaign said he discussed security issues with each of the European leaders, including a proposal by Polish President Andrzej Duda that NATO members spend at least 3% of gross domestic product on defense. Currently, they aim to spend 2%.

Jeremi Suri, a presidential historian at the University of Texas, said meetings between candidates and diplomats were normal, but said he thought Trump’s meeting with Mr. Orban and the call with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Bin Salman were unusual.

Mr. Trump adviser Brian Hughes said: “Meetings and calls from world leaders reflect the recognition of what we already know here at home. Mr. Biden is weak, and when President Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, the world will be more secure and America will be more prosperous.”

The campaign did not respond in detail to questions about the other findings in this story, but campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said: “America’s allies are anxiously hoping that President Trump will be re-elected.”

‘BYPASS DIPLOMACY’

Much of the Trump outreach has been less direct than meetings with the candidate.

Germany has been building bridges with Mr. Trump’s Republican base at a state level, reminding party officials that it invests heavily in US industry.

Mindful that Mr. Trump threatened punitive tariffs on Germany’s car industry while president, and now wants to slap a minimum 10% tariff on all imports if returned to office, Germany is using a transatlantic coordinator to ready for Trump 2.0.

As coordinator, Michael Link is leading what Berlin calls “bypass diplomacy,” crisscrossing the union, targeting swing states where Germany is a heavy investor.

“It would be extremely important, if Donald Trump were reelected, to prevent the punitive tariffs he is planning on goods from the EU,” he told Reuters.

He said he had met Republican governors of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama and Indiana. At each stop, he explains why good trade ties underpin Germany’s US presence. The biggest exporter of US-made cars is BMW, and Germany says it employs 860,000 Americans directly and indirectly.

Mr. Link has also been meeting Democratic officials, but lobbying those who can influence Mr. Trump is his priority.

Reuters could not determine if Mr. Trump was aware of Berlin’s approach.

JAPAN’S TRUMP WHISPERER

To bolster its diplomatic engagement with the Trump camp, Japan is preparing to deploy Sunao Takao, a Harvard-educated interpreter who helped former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bond with Mr. Trump over games of golf.

Another ex-prime minister of Japan, Taro Aso, met Mr. Trump in New York on Tuesday, according to a campaign official.

America’s closest ally in Asia worries Mr. Trump may revive trade protectionism and demand more money for the upkeep of US forces in Japan, government officials say.

Britain’s Labor party, now in opposition but strong favorite to win elections expected by yearend, may have a steeper hill to climb to reach a good relationship with a Trump administration.

Labor’s nominative foreign minister, David Lammy, once wrote in Time magazine that Mr. Trump was a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi sociopath.” Mr. Lammy is now working to build ties with Republicans, said a Labor official.

Mr. Lammy has met Republican figures seen as candidates for roles in a Trump cabinet, including Mike Pompeo, a former US Secretary of State under Mr. Trump, the Labor official said.

Mr. Lammy declined to be interviewed but has said many British politicians criticized Mr. Trump and he would represent British interests as foreign minister regardless of who occupies the White House. —