Donald Trump openly endorses candidates in Honduras, Poland and Latin America, a brazen shift from past US covert election interference.
WASHINGTON: No modern US president has meddled in foreign elections as openly and brazenly as Donald Trump.
Forget covert CIA plots; Trump uses social media to publicly endorse right-wing allies abroad, a stark departure from decades of US intervention.
Most recently, he endorsed Honduran right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura on Truth Social, calling him “the only real friend of Freedom” and vowing future cooperation.
“I cannot think of a time when a US president was willing to just openly state his preferences in foreign elections in this way, at least in modern history,” said Thomas Carothers of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Trump feels particularly emboldened in Latin America, a region with a long history of US interference.
His administration has belittled Colombia’s left-wing president and sanctioned a Brazilian judge who prosecuted former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro.
In Argentina, Trump promised USD 20 billion in support but warned it would vanish if voters rejected President Javier Milei’s party in legislative elections.
“It’s a consistent attempt to influence the politics, to reinforce what I think they see as already a shift towards the right that’s gaining force across the region,” said Council on Foreign Relations fellow Will Freeman.
Trump has also suggested using US military force to remove Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro.
In Europe, Trump’s homeland security chief openly endorsed the conservative candidate who won Poland’s presidential election.
His vice president attacked German restrictions on the far-right AfD party during a visit, while Trump has praised Britain’s Nigel Farage and criticised a French court ruling against Marine Le Pen.
The Trump administration has rolled back US efforts to promote democracy overseas, ordering embassies to avoid commentary on foreign elections’ legitimacy.
This mirrors Trump’s domestic stance, having refused his own 2020 election loss and faced related charges.
Ironically, Trump denounced interventionism in a May speech in Riyadh, saying past US efforts in the Middle East became disasters.
A 2021 study found the US intervened in over 80 foreign elections since WWII, more than any other country.
Carothers notes Trump’s motivation is unique, driven by personal alliances rather than Cold War-era strategy.
“What we have here is more that Donald Trump feels he has a group of friends out there in the world whom he wants to help,” he said.
He added that only Russia employs similar public tactics, such as in Moldova, while European leaders avoid openly backing candidates like Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
Trump recently hosted Orban at the White House, telling reporters European leaders should appreciate him more.
