Fears mounted over the prospect of crumbling European unity, as world markets tried to manage the economic fallout from Britain’s shock decision to exit the European Union and U.S. political leaders scrambled to measure the development’s effects on the presidential race.
While Donald Trump drew heat from Hillary Clinton for hailing the so-called Brexit as a “great thing” for the United Kingdom, the Obama administration urged caution on all sides.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry called on the U.K. and the EU to manage their divorce with as little political hype as possible for the sake of the global economy.
Three days after the British pound suffered a record plunge, crushing markets from the U.S. to Japan, Mr. Kerry told reporters Sunday that “the most important thing is that all of us, as leaders, work together to provide as much continuity, as much stability, as much certainty as possible” to help “minimize disruption” to global markets.
He pleaded for stability amid uncertainty over precisely how the two sides would make good on the decision by British voters to leave the 28-nation bloc — a historic turn that analysts say was driven mainly by public fears of immigration that has surged in recent years.
European leaders were engaged in a frenzy of behind-the-scenes meetings Sunday in preparation for a two-day EU summit to begin Tuesday in Brussels, where British Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to give a speech formally opening the diplomatic and economic divorce proceedings.
SEE ALSO: Brexit realities begin to sink in for stunned Britons, Europeans
Many appeared to be pushing Mr. Cameron not to delay the process with theatrics, with the looming prospect for infighting among remaining EU members and various internal political battles breaking out across the continent.
In France, far-right opposition leader Marine Le Pen called for a French voters to be allowed to hold a similar referendum, a proposal swiftly shot down by French President Francois Hollande.
Americans opined about how the Brexit stands to affect the U.S. economy, U.S.-British relations and the race for the White House.
During a visit to the United Kingdom in April, President Obama warned Britons that a vote to leave the EU could put them at the back of the line in ongoing and at-times tumultuous U.S.-EU free trade negotiations.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry have gone out of their way in recent days to downplay the president’s remarks, but one influential Republican lawmaker was quick to criticize the administration Sunday for having engaged in such scare tactics.
Sen. Bob Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Mr. Obama had made “sort of sophomoric threats” about the prospects of free trade with Britain. “If anything, my guess is the response of the American people is going to be to draw closer to [the] United Kingdom,” Mr. Corker said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“Change is under way, and it’s our job to make something very, very good come out of this, and that’s my goal,” said the Tennessee Republican, who also argued that the dynamics behind Brexit reflect similar anxieties of Americans about government not responding to their needs.
“There’s something happening in our society,” Mr. Corker said. “It’s happening in Western societies, where there’s tremendous anxiety over economic stagnation, the whole issue of refugees and immigration that’s changing the context of countries, and then this faceless bureaucracy that’s not really responding to people.”
What it means for Trump
The questions on many minds centered on the extent to which Britain’s EU rejection could be read as harbinger for Mr. Trump, whose populist message has relied on public fears of immigration and economic stagnation in the U.S.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who appeared in Scotland on Friday, said British voters “basically took back their country.”
He said the pound’s plunge in value will spur growth in the British economy and potentially be a boon for a golfing resort he owns in Scotland.
Mrs. Clinton’s campaign responded that Mr. Trump’s comments, coupled with the negative effects the Brexit has already had on global markets, was more proof that he is unfit to be president.
The former secretary of state had opposed Brexit, and some Democrats were quick to join her in criticisms of Mr. Trump.
“Trump finishes with the real punchline — why I’ve done so well. It’s always got to be about him,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat. “He said, ’Hey, the British pound is taking a beating now. That could help my hotel out. Your loss, Britain, is my gain.’
“This is a guy who will always put himself first, so of course he’s going to interpret it about, ’Here’s why I’ve done well,’” Mr. Kaine said during an appearance Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican, lashed out at Mrs. Clinton. During an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” he said her overall posture toward the situation was “hysterical.”
“She was wrong on Brexit, she wanted the Remain vote to win,” said Mr. Gingrich, who seized the moment to smear Mrs. Clinton’s foreign policy record as a whole.
At the same time, Mr. Gingrich said the Brexit fallout exposes a challenge to Mr. Trump heading into November.
Although the “wave building against the establishment is real,” the former House speaker said, Mr. Trump has “got to find a way to be as effective in reaching out to all Americans as he is in reaching out to white Americans.”
Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, suggested there are clear parallels between Mr. Trump’s popularity and Brexit, but he expressed concern about Mr. Trump’s message.
“One of the fundamental arguments he’s made [is] that the U.S. needs to isolate itself a little bit more from some of the other things that are happening around the world and focus on America first,” Mr. Rubio, a former presidential candidate, told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“There are some elements of truth to that argument,” Mr. Rubio said. “But ultimately given the dynamics that we now live in today, we cannot isolate ourselves from global events.
“We are the United States of America; we’re not a small, irrelevant country. We are directly and immediately impacted by global events, whether we want to be or not, whether they’re national security ones or economic ones,” he said. “We need to be able to engage with economies all over the world.”
Mr. Kerry, who made a diplomatic stop in Rome on Sunday, stressed the importance of political unity among the 27 remaining EU countries that represent a market of some 450 million people and help the U.S. provide security to unstable parts of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
The secretary of state is scheduled to visit London on Monday before heading to Tuesday’s EU summit in Brussels, where he is expected to emphasize U.S. backing for the EU amid speculation that other member countries could follow the U.K. lead.
• Seth McLaughlin contributed to this report, which is based in part on wire service reports.
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.