U.S., WORLD AWAIT TRUMP’S FIRST MOVES

Leaders abroad, either joyful or wary, face uncertainty of the new era in America

MEXICO CITY — There was dismay in Britain, applause in Russia and silence in Japan. French populists found hope, Mexican leaders expressed concern and Germany’s vice chancellor offered an allusion to his country’s dark past.

In his first speech as president of the United States, Donald Trump showed the world he could be as divisive abroad as he is at home.

In searching for a historical analogy, some in Britain reached back to the 1930s, when a bleaker vision of the world prevailed with the United States on the sidelines. In the Philippines, nationalists set fire to an effigy of Trump, while the country’s president welcomed his U.S. counterpart’s apparent willingness to stop telling other leaders how to govern.

In Britain, Prime Minister Theresa May said she would tell a skeptical Trump how important NATO and the European Union are for European and world stability. “With the threats we face, it’s not the time for less cooperation,” May, who is supposed to travel to Washington soon, told The Financial Times. Mixed reaction from a divided world

The mixed reaction reflected the divided world into which he steps.

“Time to buckle your seat belts and cross your fingers,” said Marcos Troyjo, a Brazilian economist and diplomat.

In Germany, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned of a “drastic radicalization” in U.S. politics and said Berlin stood ready to fill the void left by an isolationist Washington.

President Francois Hollande of France, battling nationalist currents in his own country, did not even wait for Trump to give his address before offering his take.

“We are in an open world economy, and it is not possible nor advisable to want to be isolated from the world economy,” he said.

In Mexico, which Trump has made a whipping boy for trade and immigration issues, the response from President Enrique Peña Nieto, who plans to deliver his own address on foreign policy Monday, was almost immediate. On Twitter, after a congratulatory note, he wrote: “Sovereignty, national interest and the protection of Mexicans will guide our relationship with the new government of the United States.” Russia thrilled, China silent Yet the response was not all bad. Russia, where often vicious mockery of Barack Obama has for months been a statesponsored national sport, responded with glee to Obama’s departure from office and the arrival of Trump.

The inauguration received blanket coverage on state media. Stirring particular delight among Russian politicians and commentators were Trump’s remarks about the need “to unite the civilized world against radical Islam.” One of Russia’s biggest gripes against Obama was that he criticized President Vladimir Putin for supporting the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.

And in saying nothing, some world leaders seemed to embrace the new reality.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan said nothing publicly after Trump’s speech. But in a congratulatory message after the inauguration, Japanese media reported, he called Japan’s alliance with the United States an “axis of Japan’s foreign and security policies,” even though Trump was vocal in attacking Japanese trade practices and questioning U.S. military support for the country.

In China, the silence was notable for another reason. China Digital Times, a U.S.-based website that tracks Chinese media, published a directive that forbade the country’s online news organizations to run photos of the inauguration or include it among their top five news stories of the day.

“Time to buckle your seat belts and cross your fingers.” Marcos Troyo, Brazilian diplomat