European officials reject claim that world leaders are 'laughing' at Trump and praise his 'strong message'

UNITED NATIONS, NY – Foreign ministers of European nations with close ties to the U.S. responded to Vice President Kamala Harris' claim that world leaders are “laughing” at former President Trump, denying the claim.

During the presidential debate in September, Harris said: “World leaders are laughing at Donald Trump. I have spoken to military leaders, some of whom have worked with you, and they say you are a disgrace.”

When asked about that quote, foreign ministers attending the high-level United Nations week stressed that they have no particular opinion on the U.S. election and will work with the winner.

“We are friends of America,” said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, noting that Italy and the United States were “two sides of the same coin.” “If Trump becomes the new President of America, we will work with him, just as we worked with him when he was President of America.”

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“We worked well with Biden, Bush, Reagan, Clinton and Obama,” Tajani added. “For us, transatlantic relations are the key strategy of our foreign policy, Europe and America.”

The foreign ministers of Lithuania and the Czech Republic stressed that they would not interfere in the election by indicating a preference, but that they would “leave the decision to American citizens.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (center) watches as President Trump and Poland's President Andrzej Duda speak during a working lunch at the NATO Leaders' Summit, December 4, 2019, in Watford, United Kingdom. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

“It is not my job to comment on such a political statement,” said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky.

Lipavsky, however, praised Trump's “strong” message of defense spending, which he hoped Europe would continue to embrace in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

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“The point is that Donald Trump had a strong message for Europe in his time, and that message resonated greatly and resonates even more now because he said that you should spend more on defense,” Lipavsky said.

“My government is spending more on our defense,” he added. “We want to achieve that 2% of GDP, we will achieve it this year, and we will continue next year. So if Donald Trump was a president with the message, 'Please spend 2%,' we would be OK.”

President Trump reacts alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as they attend a working lunch during the NATO Leaders' Summit in Watford, United Kingdom, December 4, 2019. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis highlighted the “very long history” between the two countries and said the relationship was “more than politics.”

Instead, he reinforced the message that whoever wins the election must focus on the same defense spending message that Trump promoted during his first term.

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US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris listens as former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 10, 2024. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Before the Trump administration, few NATO members had kept their commitment to spending 2% of GDP on defense, but that number rose sharply because of Trump's persistence and tough stance on the issue.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reported in June that 23 of the 32 member states had met minimum spending requirements, helping to improve the bloc's ability to support Ukraine and potentially deter Russian aggression beyond its current ambitions.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban with former President Trump during his visit to Mar-a-Lago in Florida in July. (@PM_ViktorOrban)

However, no European country has praised the success of Trump's first term and expressed hopes for a strong second term as much as Hungary. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó announced that his government has “great expectations” from a new Trump administration.

“We have great expectations because we believe that many of the major crises that cause us great concern can be resolved by a President Trump administration,” Szijjártó said, pointing out that he is the longest-serving foreign minister in the country with 10 years NATO is years old.

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“I didn’t actually see anyone laughing at Trump,” Szijjártó said. “What I saw was that many were afraid. I saw that many were afraid that a US president would be honest, not held hostage by the liberal majority, take a patriotic position and speak clearly about America.”

Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have done little to hide their rosy friendship. Trump described the Hungarian leader as a “strong man of Europe” who spoke well of the former president.

Orbán proved this is a mutual dynamic when he left the NATO summit in Washington DC earlier this year to instead meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to discuss foreign relations.

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“Under President Trump, everything was under control,” Szijjártó said. “Since President Trump left office, the overall global security situation has deteriorated. I mean, these are experiences.”

“Based on our experience, we say yes, from the perspective of US-Hungary relations, I think that President Trump would give further impetus, freshness and dynamism to this relationship. And I think if President Trump is elected, I think that…”The world has a good chance of becoming a more peaceful place compared to the current situation.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.