Former US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) as they pose for a photo within their meeting at Mar-a-Lago estate, in Palm Beach, Florida, United States on July 26, 2024.
Amos Ben-Gershom | Anadolu | Getty Images
A flurry of world leaders on Wednesday sent their congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump after the 78-year-old triumphantly declared a “magnificent” victory.
NBC News has projected Trump will win the presidential race.
Addressing his supporters in Florida, Trump said his return to the White House would usher in the “golden age” of America.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Trump on his “historic” election victory, saying the U.K.-U.S. “special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”
Likewise, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban all offered their congratulations to Trump.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of European Commission, at a news conference following a meeting of the Christian Democratic Union party in Berlin, Germany, on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Trump on what he described as his “impressive election victory.”
“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together,” Zelenskyy via social media.
“We look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership. We rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, shake hands during a meeting on September 27, 2024 in New York City.
Alex Kent | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Zelenskyy’s comments come as tensions are likely to be running high in Kyiv, with the U.S. vote regarded as a potentially make-or-break moment in the country’s years-long fight against Russia.
Ukrainian officials were said to be closely watching the result amid concerns that future military aid to the eastern European country could be cut — a move that would significantly curtail Kyiv’s ability to fight back against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Russia, meanwhile, appeared to be buoyed by news that Trump has secured a White House victory.
“Trump has one quality that is useful to us: as a businessman to the core, he mortally dislikes spending money on various hangers-on and freeloaders – on idiotic allies, on stupid charity projects and on gluttonous international organizations,” Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president, said via Telegram, according to an NBC translation.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said via Telegram: “Kamala Harris was right when she quoted Psalm 31:5: ‘Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.'”
“Hallelujah, I’d add from my part,” Zakharova said, according to an NBC translation
Mark Rutte, incoming secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), during a transition ceremony at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. Mark Rutte, the affable and meticulous former Dutch premier, has a daunting task ahead to keep the defense alliance a global force.
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Separately, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Trump’s leadership would be key to keeping the military alliance strong.
“I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through #NATO,” Rutte said.