Donald Trump Changes Name To Mr. Brexit — Nobody Knows Why (Video)

There’s a new litmus test in the world of politics that goes something like this: If Donald Trump is in favor of something, then it’s probably not such a hot idea. Such was the case with the recent Brexit vote, the United Kingdom’s historic decision to leave the European Union, and it’s many hard-won labour and environmental protection laws, behind.

The vote, which took place on June 23, resulted in a surprise victory for the Leave camp which was widely criticized for running a campaign of lies and disinformationin order to appeal to the baser instincts of the electorate.

Brexit
Image via YouTube screengrab.

 Call Me Mr. Brexit

How fitting it is then, that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is a huge fan of the disastrous decision. Rather than focus on reversing the direction of his now almost inevitable electoral defeat, he decided, without any apparent reason, to tweet:

Who “they” are remains unclear, as does the reason why anyone would call the White House hopeful “Mr. Brexit” in the first place.

As far as can be ascertained, he played no part whatsoever in the referendum.

Call Him Mr. Brexit?

The first mention of Brexit from Mr. Trump dates back to March 21 when Trump said:

“I think they (Britain) may leave the EU, yes, they’re having a lot of problems.”

Trump, having correctly identified one of the possible outcomes of the referendum, set out his reasoning in a typically robust way. He started by commenting on the vote, then insisting that he did not want to comment on the vote, then immediately commented on it again, saying:

“I think they may leave based on – I’m there a lot, I have a lot of investments in the UK and I will tell you that I think they may leave based on everything I’m hearing.”

Trump’s position, little more than an observation that a flipped coin might land on tails, did not extend to any actual advice on the topic. Asked whether a leave vote would be good for the UK, Trump answered:

“I don’t know; you’d have to ask them. I just think they may leave.”

The Reverse Midas Touch

Brexit was carried along on a wave of popular dissent that turned genuine, heartfelt anger towards the political classes, into the national equivalent of a self-administered punch to the face. Decried by former British Prime minister John Major as:

“Nonsense. Nonsense on stilts.”

And by the German Foreign office as a:

“Sad day for Europe.”

Few people of any real political substance were celebrating. Trump however, was seemingly overcome with self-congratulation the day after the vote was cast. Speaking at his golf course in Scotland Trump said:

“People want to take their country back. They want to have independence, in a sense, and you see it with Europe, all over Europe. You’re going to have more than just — in my opinion, more than what happened last night, you’re going to have, I think many other cases where they want to take their borders back. They want to take their monetary back.”

Command Of Detail, Not One Of Trump’s Strengths

Taking their monetary back was a possible, though incoherent, reference to the Eurozone, those European countries that have adopted the Euro as their national currency. The United Kingdom is not one of those nations; its currency has always been the pound.

Still, other people with slightly more political acumen were on hand to celebrate Trump’s self-claimed victory. Marie Le Penn, President of the National Front, a French far-right party that may, or may not be, funded by Russian President Vladimir Putin, tweeted that the British vote to leave the EU was a:

“Victory of freedom.”

Then there was Putin himself. Russia’s position has long been one of divide and conquer, and the Brexit vote, a vote that weakens both Europe and the U.K., clearly delighted him. Still, Putin is enough of a political realist to reign in public displays of victory.

As Trump hacked away at the issue with his dull axe blade of a mind, Putin was wielding a scalpel with no small amount of precision. His official response was only that Brexit would have:

“A long term traumatic effect on the UK.”

In this, Putin is almost certainly correct.

An Economic Own Goal

The Leave camp, having made u-turns on almost every promise they made, including their insistence that the UK would be able to reduce immigration, has quietly faded away into the background as economic realities have hit home. The pound dropped to its weakest level since 1986, the UK’s credit rating was downgraded, and a study by the independent Center for Economic Performance predicted UK incomes would drop by as much as 2.3 percent.

Perhaps this is what Trump means when he claims that he will be remembered as Mr. Brexit. His is a campaign that is also based on lies, scaremongering, and misinformation, and like Brexit, if successful, will lead to an economic meltdown and a case of buyer’s remorse so severe, that the U.S. may never be the same again.

That sounds about right.

I'm a full- time, somewhat unwilling resident of the planet Earth. I studied journalism at Murdoch University in West Australia and moved back to the UK where I taught politics and studied for a PhD. I've written a number of books on political philosophy that are mostly of interest to scholars. I'm also a seasoned travel writer so I get to stay in fancy hotels for free. I have a pet Lizard called Rousseau. We have only the most cursory of respect for one another.