Following MSNBC’s 10 a.m. ET hour coverage of a joint press conference between President Obama and the Greek prime minister in Athens, anchor Kristen Welker brought on chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and worried: “What level of concern is there right now in this region and other regions around the world – the Middle East, for example – about this election and what we have seen so far in this transition period?”
Engel proclaimed: “...there is a perception that forces of nationalism, ultranationalism, the rage vote is leading in many sectors around the world and that Trump was part of that....People think that perhaps after Trump, you're going to see more right-wing or fringe candidates emerging to the center stage and Greece and other countries are concerned about that.”
He feared the broader impact:
What does it mean for the EU? Could this be the beginning of the unraveling of the EU as countries retreat into their own borders? I mean, President-Elect Trump was talking about putting up a border fence around this country, a wall around this country. Does that mean the end of globalism, the dream of open borders as Europe is finding so much trouble with?
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Welker then turned to political correspondent Katy Tur and touted how Obama “talked about crude nationalism” in his remarks and issued “a warning against that type of ideology.” Tur described Trump’s worldview: “They do want to protect this nationalistic quality, this Americanness of this country....They saw the country changing, becoming more multi-cultural, becoming more integrated. They saw more immigration – or they believed they saw more immigration coming into this country...”
She argued that “many of the things that Donald Trump has promised to fix are going to be extraordinarily hard to do” and that his supporters will have to hold him accountable for his “very grand promises.” Tur hoped: “And if it does not happen, does it revert back to a feeling where maybe President Obama was right to embrace the world a little bit more, to welcome innovation, welcome progression, welcome change?”
Here is a transcript of the November 15 exchange:
10:37 AM ET
(...)
KRISTEN WELKER: And I want to bring in Richard Engel, who is watching and monitoring this with us. Richard, you also heard the Greek prime minister sort echo that warning. Talked about the importance of unifying people as opposed to dividing people. What level of concern is there right now in this region and other regions around the world – the Middle East, for example – about this election and what we have seen so far in this transition period?
RICHARD ENGEL: Well, there's different reactions in different parts of the world, but to go back to the conversation you were just having, there is a perception that forces of nationalism, ultranationalism, the rage vote is leading in many sectors around the world and that Trump was part of that. In France, there is the rise of the nationalist party there under Le Pen. People think that perhaps after Trump, you're going to see more right-wing or fringe candidates emerging to the center stage and Greece and other countries are concerned about that.
What does it mean for the EU? Could this be the beginning of the unraveling of the EU as countries retreat into their own borders? I mean, President-Elect Trump was talking about putting up a border fence around this country, a wall around this country. Does that mean the end of globalism, the dream of open borders as Europe is finding so much trouble with?
But the President was also talking about this isn't a Brexit. He was asked specifically about that and said it’s not a Brexit. We're not fundamentally changing, he hopes or he is committing to telling the world. Our trade relations, our security policies, we're not backing away from NATO. We'll see if he's right, but he’s trying to assure his allies. And I think he's going to be stressing these messages when he goes on to Germany and when he goes on to meet with international leaders, including China, when he goes to Peru, that the U.S. is still a stable ship. And that line, “History doesn't move in a straight line, it sort of charts its course but keeps on moving.” And I think he's trying to assure friends and warn adversaries that the U.S. will keep on sailing.
WELKER: And I think you're right, yesterday in the briefing room, the President saying that was a key priority on this final foreign trip to reassure the United States allies. I want to bring in Katy Tur. Katy, the President talked about crude nationalism. We were just chewing over that here. Let me play you the sound bite and then I want to get your reaction on the other side. Let's take a listen.
BARACK OBAMA: I do believe, separate and apart from any particular election or movement, that we are going to have to guard against a rise in a crude sort of nationalism or ethnic identity or tribalism that is built around an us and a them. And I will never apologize for saying that the future of humanity and the future of the world is going to be defined by what we have in common as opposed to those things that separate us and ultimately lead us into conflict.
WELKER: Katy, as we were discussing here with Anne [Gearan], with Richard, really a warning against that type of ideology. And of course, it comes as Donald Trump has appointed Steve Bannon, someone who's a lightning rod. He was with Breitbart, something that he said he wanted to be the platform for the alt-right. How do you anticipate the Trump campaign will take the President’s words? Because they have really praised President Obama, saying he's really helping with a smooth transition here. Will that stern warning, do you think, cause them to say otherwise?
KATY TUR: You know, I cannot predict how this campaign, now this transition team, or President-Elect Donald Trump is going to react to the President today or whether he will react to the President today. But what I can say is that they will argue, if they are confronting this, that what happened in this country was a rejection of the policies, the platforms, the attitude that President Obama had towards the world.
They do want to protect this nationalistic quality, this Americanness of this country. “America first” is what you hear Donald Trump say on the campaign trail, “make America great again,” these catchy phrases that they use resonated with his base because they saw their jobs going overseas. They saw the country changing, becoming more multi-cultural, becoming more integrated. They saw more immigration – or they believed they saw more immigration coming into this country – and so that's what the Trump team will say in the face of an argument like that.
The reality is though, many of the things that Donald Trump has promised to fix are going to be extraordinarily hard to do. Bringing the coal industry back for one. Bringing these jobs back from, say, Carrier, which is moving jobs overseas, making sure those jobs stay in America. Donald Trump made these very grand promises that he will immediately change life for the better for his supporters and now it is up to his supporters to hold him accountable for that and we're going to find out if that happens. And if it does not happen, does it revert back to a feeling where maybe President Obama was right to embrace the world a little bit more, to welcome innovation, welcome progression, welcome change? We're going to have to find out. You heard President Obama talking about the zigs and zags, and I think that is more relevant now than ever.
WELKER: Absolutely. Katy Tur, well put.
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