Europe hates Trump. Does it matter?

A carnival float mocking US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was displayed in Dusseldorf last month

So, what does the world make of Donald Trump?

Mr Trump has some admirers in Europe. A few on the extreme end of the political spectrum like his tough line on immigration. Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the French National Front, said if he were American he'd vote Trump.

There are echoes of Trumpism in the nationalist parties of Britain, Denmark, Netherlands, Greece as well as France. The dissatisfaction with the status quo, the sense that middle-class and working-class people have been neglected by the existing political establishment, a feeling that politicians aren't honest with voters - you can find all that in the appeal of Europe's populists.

While the politics of Jeremy Corbyn, the socialist leader of the Labour Party, are the opposite of those of Donald Trump, the disillusionment that drives his supporters is not so different.

But the voices of support are drowned out by almost universal condemnation. When it comes to Trump, Europe is apoplectic. Fascinated, but appalled.

I'm sometimes asked by Americans what Brits make of Trump and the best analogy I can come up with is this.

Imagine if your much-respected but slightly annoying older sibling (the US) came home with a fantastically unsuitable date (Trump). Part of you is titillated but part of you is appalled, thinking, "Oh my God, this could go horribly wrong." After Super Tuesday, Europe is fast moving from the former to the latter.

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