European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has warned that the re-election of Donald Trump as president of the United States would be a threat to Europe.
In an interview with France 2 TV, she said the way Mr Trump conducted his first term as president was enough to raise concerns over his potential return to power.
“If we should learn lessons from history, from the way he led the first four years of his mandate, it is clearly a threat,” Ms Lagarde said during the interview.
“It’s sufficient to look at the trade tariffs, the commitment to Nato, the fight against climate change. In just these three areas, in the past [under Trump], US interests were not aligned with European interests.”
Observers said Ms Lagarde’s comments marked a departure from the customary practice of central bank’s leaders to avoid involvement in political matters.
She was asked if a second Trump presidency could leave Europe alone in supporting Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion. To this, Ms Lagarde said this was unlikely “because in the US Congress, there are a number of elected members who are deeply hostile to Russia’s horrific war against Ukraine and who will continue to finance and support Ukraine”.
She continued: “You mustn’t forget that even in a presidential system like the American one, the Congress has considerable strength.”
Asked about European inflation, the 68-year-old ECB president said the “hardest and worst bit” of dealing with inflation was likely over. She noted that if the ECB could be certain that inflation had dropped to the 2 per cent level, they would consider cutting interest rates.
“I think that rates, barring any further shocks or unexpected data, will not continue to go up. And if we win our fight against inflation, and if we are certain that inflation will indeed be at 2 per cent, at that point rates will start to go down,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump tried to backtrack on his previous suggestion that he would be a dictator for the first day of his next term if he wins this year’s election.
His comments came during a town hall in Des Moines, Iowa on Fox News just a few days ahead of the first-in-the-nation Republican primary contest on 15 January. The former president chose to attend the town hall instead of debating challengers Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis on CNN.
