US Presidential Elections: European Far Right Hope Donald Trump Will Set Them Free - by Siraj Datoo

Donald Trump's Sieg Heil - The Genie is out of the bottle

Donald Trump has not only excited white supremacist and anti-Muslim organizations across the U.S., he is also finding fans among European far-right groups and populist leaders.

The Republican presidential candidate’s fiery rhetoric — from his calls to shut down Muslim immigration to his assertion that “Islam hates us” — echoes the language of populists across Europe, who now hope that their own parties will be less inclined to hold back on promoting their own anti-Muslim beliefs and speech.

Tommy Robinson, who launched the UK branch of anti-Muslim group Pegida said a Trump presidency would allow him and others to discuss their feelings about Islam more freely. “It would make it an acceptable debate to have,” he told BuzzFeed News.

Robert Ménard, the National Front-supported mayor of Beziers in southern France, told BuzzFeed News that he hopes Trump will win the Republican nomination and the U.S. presidency. Ménard, who is known as one of France’s more radical officials, was elected on a far-right ticket in 2014.

Ménard said his colleagues should take take inspiration from Trump’s success and not hold back on their anti-immigration language — an apparent swipe at Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front, who has attempted to soften the party’s message. Her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the National Front’s founder has enthusiastically supported Trump for president, tweeting “If I was American, I would vote for Donald Trump. May God protect him.

 EU-Digest