Donald Trump: The countries he has offended and will have to build bridges with if he wins
Expect some awkward meetings if the Republican finds himself in the White House
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.During his campaign to reach the White House, Donald Trump has thrown a few insults around.
He launched his campaign by saying an entire country (Mexico) was full of potential rapists, and since then his comments haven't got much better. If he becomes president the property tycoon will have some bridges to build once he enters 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Here are some of the world powers the Republican candidate has derided:
Mexico
The Trump campaign had yet to officially begin when the billionaire made enemies of Mexicans. “They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists,” he said in May 2016.
He went on to reason with a host at CNN: ”Somebody's doing the raping, Don! I mean somebody's doing it! Who's doing the raping? Who's doing the raping?“”
The property tycoon has tried to explain his words by saying he was against illegal immigrants rather than the entire country of Mexico. But he has also taken aim at the government calling them “totally corrupt”.
Yet perhaps the tycoon saved his relationship with the nation of Mexico when he posted a photo on Facebook of him eating tacos with the caption: “Happy Cinco de Mayo! [...] I love Hispanics!”
China
Rape continued to be a theme the Republican favoured when insulting other nations.
“We can't continue to allow China to rape our country, and that's what they're doing,“ he told a rally in 2016.
The Republican nominee has repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency, of stealing American jobs, of engaging in state-sponsored cyber hacking, and even of inventing climate change.
“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive,” Mr Trump tweeted in November 2012.
But despite what Mr Trump may have said, Chinese state-linked media have intimated that “many Chinese prefer Trump” over Ms Clinton.
The billionaire “could in fact be the best president for China,” according to Hong Kong political commentator Wu Jun said during a recent on-air discussion. Mr Wu said this was because he “is a businessman who puts his commercial interests above everything else.”
The Phillipines
The southeast Asian country was considered one of the “terrorist nations” Mr Trump included in the list whose citizens Mr Trump said he would ban.
“We are dealing with animals,” he said at a campaign rally in August.
But the business magnate has given a different impression on the website for the $150 million, 57-story Trump Tower he built in Manila.
“I’ve always loved the Philippines,” he said. “I think it’s just a special place and Manila is one of Asia’s most spectacular cities.”
Greece
Mr Trump has been criticised for not acting as a President in waiting when he said Greece was “unsalvageable”.
He exclaimed during his presidential announcement speech in 2015: “At $24 trillion, that’s the point of no return. We will be there soon. That’s when we become Greece! That’s when we become a country that’s unsalvageable.”
Germany
Rather than offering condolences following an attack in a Paris police station, Mr Trump took to Twitter to say: “Germany is a total mess - big crime. Get smart!”
Many were confused as to why Mr Trump appeared to believe Paris was in Germany, although the Republican’s supporters denied he believed this.
He has also taken aim at German Chancellor Angela Merkel personally. After he lost out to the stateswoman in the competition for Time magazine’s Person of the Year award he said she was “ruining Germany”.
India
The Republican nominee may have made enemies in India when he spoke to supporters at a rally in Delaware and appeared to put on a bad Indian accent to impersonate a call centre employee.
Iran
Mr Trump accused the Iran of acting dishonestly during negotiations for it to reduce its stockpile of uranium in July 2015.
“Iran continues to delay the nuclear deal while doing many bad things behind our backs. Time to walk and double the sanctions. Stop payments!” he said in a tweet
Four days later, Tehran agreed signed the accord.
Saudi Arabia
The property tycoon may not have made any friends in the Gulf Kingdom when he took to Twitter to deride the Saudi Prime Alwaleed bin Talal, calling him “dopey” and claiming he “wants to control our US. politicians with daddy’s money.”
United Kingdom
In December 2015, Mr Trump told the UK to “be honest”, saying the United Kingdom was "trying hard to disguise their massive Muslim problem".
France
Trump has refused to rule out banning individuals from France, saying it was one of several countries “that have totally been“ compromised by terrorism.
The bad-feeling would appear to be mutual. In August, French President, Francois Hollande said the billionaire businessman “makes you want to retch”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments