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Danish opposition leader: Trump is a ‘populist know-it-all’

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Danish opposition leader: Trump is a ‘populist know-it-all’
Things might get a little awkward if both Frederiksen and Trump end up becoming heads of state in their respective countries. Photo: Jim Watson/Scanpix

The leader of Denmark’s largest opposition party launched a scathing attack on US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in a Facebook post to her supporters on Wednesday.

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Leader of the Danish Social Democrats Mette Frederiksen took a short break out of her holiday on Wednesday to publish a comment on her Facebook page about recent world events, including Donald Trump’s appointment as the Republican presidential nominee and the Brexit vote.

“I disagree with Trump on a lot of issues. His speeches are very, very hate-filled. Most of his statements are about building walls, where we should instead be building bridges,” the opposition leader wrote.

She also noted her disbelief that the controversial Republican candidate had said that under his leadership, the US might not come to the defence of an attacked NATO ally that hadn’t fulfilled its payment obligations.

See also: Danes dump Trump: Just four percent want him as president

”Donald Trump is both a know-it-all and a populist. Neither the poor nor the many Americans tempted by Trump’s easy fixes – and the rest of the world in general – would stand to gain from his possible future presidency,” she continued.

The Social Democrat leader also noted, however, that she believed Trump’s candidacy was symptomatic of a growing concern for the future among not only citizens in the US, but also within the European Union.

“The fear, frustration and concern for the future is something we are also familiar with here in Denmark,” she wrote, adding that a struggling working class was also what led to the UK voting to leave the EU.

She also voiced her scepticism about Trump's and the UK’s Leave movement’s promises to improve conditions for the working class.

“I do not believe for a second that any US or UK citizen who feels that their job and benefits systems are under threat will be better off under Trump or with the UK out of the EU.”

As leader of the Social Democrats, it is very likely that a red bloc win in the next Danish general election would result in Frederiksen becoming Prime Minister.

This makes the opposition leader’s scathing attack against the potential next president of the US – a man she would have to negotiate with as PM - rather unusual.

However, while Frederiksen may be one of the most senior Danish politicians to express their concern for a Trump presidency, she is far from the first.

Trump's political rise has in fact been generally met by a mix of disbelief and trepidation in Denmark. Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen has said that it would be "much more difficult to work with the US" if Trump becomes president.

"You’d never know what he will believe tomorrow. He changes opinions like the rest of us change underwear,” Jensen told broadcaster DR.

Several other Danish politicians have slammed Trump for some of his more outrageous statements and even warned that if he were to assume the White House, Denmark would have to reconsider its relationship with the United States.

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