Fear, concern — the world reacts to Trump’s inauguration
WASHINGTON — Raucous Champagne toasts in Russia, prayerful wishes from the Vatican, late-night yawns in China and defiant protests in central London: The world greeted Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th U.S. president with apprehension, anxiety and a smattering of glee — much like the swirl of mixed emotions that accompanied his improbable march to power.
In living rooms and cafes, nightclubs and bars, millions across the globe tuned in to live coverage of the new American leader taking the oath of office, the capstone of a day of inaugural pomp in Washington, D.C. Many said they hoped for the best, but feared the worst; others welcomed a break with the past.
In China, already roiled by Mr. Trump’s rhetoric over trade and Taiwan, the state clamped tight controls on media coverage of fresh utterances from the fledgling U.S. president. In France, Friday’s lead headline in the left-leaning daily Liberation — accompanied by a photo of Mr. Trump leaning into a stiff headwind — read: “Here we go!”
As Mr. Trump assumed the presidency, there were some pockets of pride. Sevnica, the Slovenian hometown of Mr. Trump’s third wife, Melania, declared three full days of celebration built around her husband’s inauguration. In the Mideast, the mayor of Jerusalem expressed inauguration-eve hopes for a speedy fulfillment of Mr. Trump’s controversial pledge to move the U.S. embassy to the contested city.
In his inaugural address, Mr. Trump initially appeared to signal inclusiveness toward those watching from outside America. “People of the world, thank you,” he intoned. But he quickly pivoted to vociferous declarations: “It’s going to be only America first, America first. … America will start winning again.”
That struck a sour note with overseas listeners like Briton Nicola Frith, a professor at the University of Edinburgh.
“It’s the most nationalistic address I’ve heard since … I don’t know when,” she said. “It’s like Donald Trump has just flooded the whole nation with his personality.”
The inauguration galvanized demonstrations in European capitals such as London, where protesters draped signs on bridges reading “Build bridges not walls,” and Berlin. Many Germans were rattled by a weekend interview in which Mr. Trump threatened to slap heavy duties on German carmakers and suggested he placed equal trust in Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the closest U.S. allies.
But not all Germans shared the sense of Trumpgenerated angst. Friedrich Merz, a senior figure in Ms. Merkel’s party, warned against a “hysterical reaction” to the new U.S. president.
“It’s quite possible that this president could be good for a number of positive surprises,” he said.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis offered good wishes and prayers for the new president, but appeared to allude to concerns about Mr. Trump’s harshly anti-immigrant stance and to fears for the fate of social welfare programs under his administration.
Though Mr. Trump refrained in his speech from specifically blasting Mexico — a topic that for months was a campaign staple — his inauguration generated a new wave of worry among Mexicans. A small group gathered to chant protest slogans in Mexico City’s Plaza de Angel.
“God bless America,” said Carlos Matias, a 49-year-old small-business owner. “And God bless Mexicans, because we are Trump’s No. 1 enemy.”
Mr. Trump’s use of his first speech as president to vow to eradicate “radical Islamic terrorism” caused a ripple of unease across the Middle East, although the comments were in keeping with his previous statements.
In the Jordanian capital of Amman, one bar extended its happy hour because “we were all glued to the TV,” said patron Jared Kohler. On Facebook, he mourned that an occasion like happy hour served to mark “the global tragedy” of Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
The opposite sentiment prevailed in a rowdy bar near the Kremlin and at nightclubs elsewhere in Russia, where revelers cheered and popped Champagne corks to mark Mr. Trump’s swearing-in. Already, his image is ubiquitous: The new president’s swoop-haired image adorns traditional matryoshka nesting dolls for sale at tourist shops across Moscow.