The Dalai Lama Isn’t Worried About Donald Trump, Says He Will Visit The President-Elect
The Dalai Lama has welcomed Donald Trump’s election as the next president of the United States, saying that not only is he not worried about the new leader of the free world, but he also plans to visit the President-elect for talks. The current Tibetan spiritual leader is exiled from China, where his comments are likely to spark further controversy, considering Donald Trump’s unpopularity amongst the country’s government. Meanwhile, Trump himself has often been critical of China and the Chinese government.
According to the Telegraph, the Dalai Lama used a visit to the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator to speak out about Donald Trump’s recent election. The prominent international figure said that he’d always looked to the United States as a leading nation of the free world and said Donald Trump’s election wouldn’t change that. He also confirmed plans to visit the President-elect, saying “I think there are some problems to go to [the] United States, so I will go to see the new president” – however, he didn’t elaborate further.
Dalai Lama says will visit Trump https://t.co/kVXfplcLx7 pic.twitter.com/97uU2cyku2
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 23, 2016
The Dalai Lama has held close ties with the United States throughout President Obama’s tenure. He most recently visited the White House for the fourth time in June for talks with President Obama, despite warnings from China that doing so would damage international relations between the two countries.
Despite those close ties with the outgoing president, the Dalai Lama isn’t concerned about President-elect Donald Trump. He confirmed he has no worries, saying “Sometimes I feel during [the] election the candidate has more freedom to express. Once elected, having the responsibility, then they have to tell you their sort of vision, their works according to reality. So I have no worries.” That being said, Donald Trump has yet to respond to the Dalai Lama’s remarks, however, it’s safe to assume that they’ll be welcomed by the President-elect.
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The Dalai Lama is a divisive political figure in China, where the country’s government regards him as a separatist. However, the Dalai Lama is internationally recognized as a figurehead for the campaign to gain full autonomy for his Himalayan homeland Tibet, which has been under Chinese control since 1950.
China isn’t typically seen to respond in kind to countries that host the exiled leader. Its government has lamented Mongolia for allowing the Dalai Lama to visit and in the past and briefly canceled flights between the two countries as a result of the visit. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump largely criticized China. With that in mind, the President-elect isn’t expected to let diplomatic relations prevent him from inviting the Dalai Lama to the White House after he takes office in January next year.
The UK has rejected a suggestion by Donald Trump to appoint Nigel Farage as ambassador to the US https://t.co/hllBx6Rf7y pic.twitter.com/ytWdkUGEpL
— CNN (@CNN) November 22, 2016
Donald Trump’s election has been met with a varied response from international leaders. According to the New York Times, his decision to recommend that the UK government appoint his close friend Nigel Farage as the country’s ambassador to the United States has been met with outrage from the country’s leadership. Mr. Farage was, of course, a staunch backer of the successful campaign to remove the United Kingdom from the European Union and later appeared on the campaign trail with Donald Trump.
How Donald Trump forges relationships with international leaders in his first few months in office will be watched with close scrutiny. However, the Dalai Lama doesn’t appear to be concerned about Donald Trump’s election and could potentially visit the President-elect shortly after his inauguration.
[Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
