There are just five major party contenders left in the 2016 U.S. presidential election – three Republicans and two Democrats – but the world’s attention is focused on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
There are a couple of reasons. They’re the front runners, for one thing, but they also have the most name recognition among casual international observers, says Rebecca Cruise, a comparative politics expert and frequent World Views contributor who’s also the assistant dean of the University of Oklahoma’s College of International Studies.
“Most people around the world know who Hillary Clinton is, obviously because of her husband, but also because of her role as Secretary of State and some of the actions she took during that time,” Cruise said. “And then Donald Trump, if they didn't know who he was before, they certainly know who he is now. He's often known as the guy from The Apprentice, or happens to be the millionaire that's built these towers in their major cities.”
Cruise says Trump’s comments about Muslims have raised eyebrows in the Middle East, and Latin America has similar concerns because of his remarks about Hispanics and immigrants. There’s another wrinkle, too. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin essentially endorsed Donald Trump, calling him the “absolute leader in the presidential race.”
“In some ways you can see the similarities between a Trump and a Putin presidency – kind of the macho male that's really kind of pushing their pushing their firm beliefs,” Cruise said. “And we would expect that Putin's policies would line up fairly closely with a Trump presidency. There wouldn't be the antagonism that has perhaps existed in the last couple of years, and maybe the United States would back away from some of its policies toward Russia.”
Trump has also drawn comparisons to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The two billionaires are no stranger to tabloid headlines, and Cruise says they’ve attracted a similar type of constituency – tapping into support despite offending them.
“Berlusconi said some very disparaging things about women, and yet housewives were amongst his biggest fans,” Cruise said. “And we some of that happening here in this country with Trump. Some of the things that have been said about the lack of knowledge and education about some of the people in this country, and yet some of those same people are big supporters of Trump.”
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