Now that President Donald Trump is back on U.S. soil after traveling overseas to discuss NATO and meet with dignitaries, his reception in foreign countries made one thing abundantly clear: Europe doesn’t like Trump.
The criticism Trump reaped over the past few days was massive. But it was just an appetizer for the hearty servings of backlash he’s receiving in the United States after his disgraceful comments at a press conference alongside Russian president Vladimir Putin.
If you missed Trump’s international tour, here’s how various countries reacted to his visit.
NATO talks in Brussels
While the president is tweeting today that he had “great meeting with NATO” and that the organization is “strong again (bad for Russia),” it sure did not appear that way to NATO leaders. Aside from threatening to leave NATO, Trump accused Germany — a NATO ally — of being a “captive of Russia.”
“It’s like the world has gone crazy this morning,” a senior European diplomat told CNN. “Trump’s performance was beyond belief.”
Ahead of the NATO talks, the people of Brussels took to the streets and expressed their disdain for Trump. One large banner read “Make Peace Great Again,” another said “Pro-America Anti-Trump,” others held up an oversized Trump papier-mâché puppet.
London welcomes Trump with protests
Even before Trump ever set foot in the U.K., an enormous baby Trump balloon awaited him. But the president still, for some reason, insisted that he was very much liked in the U.K. He backed down from that sentiment, perhaps once he was notified of the large scale of protests. In a now infamous interview with The Sun, Trump said that he would be skipping London altogether because: “When they make you feel unwelcome, why would I stay there?” The protests roared even louder on his second day in the U.K.
An estimated 100,000 people showed up with signs that said things like, “I’d say piss off, but I hear you like that sort of thing” and “there are more people here than your inauguration.”
The massive crowds are no surprise — his approval rating in the U.K. is always below 30%.
Trump and the Queen
One of the worst moments for Trump during his visit in the U.K., was his interactions with Queen Elizabeth. The Brits were not happy with the president’s blatant disrespect for their monarch.
Meeting the queen comes with a long list of dos and don’ts, but Trump perhaps wasn’t informed about them, because he failed at many of them. Not only did Trump walk in front of the queen, but he cut her off entirely.
“I’m not a monarchist by any stretch of the imagination but this is such an insult to Britain. Absolutely clueless, classless, thoughtless, lacking in any dignity, and without a shred of respect,” @mcgregormt tweeted.
“Forget she’s the queen,” @Redpeter99 tweeted. “She’s a 92-year-old woman walking on uneven ground in baking hot weather. Trump set a brisk pace without checking on her welfare. An utter self obsessed twat.”
Golfing in Scotland
Trump may have assumed that he was safe from ridicule on his own property but he was sorely mistaken. While protests ensued in Scotland, Trump took some time off to golf at his own resort. “I have arrived in Scotland and will be at Trump Turnberry for two days of meetings, calls, and hopefully, some golf — my primary form of exercise! The weather is beautiful, and this place is incredible!” the president tweeted.
But he wasn’t safe there either. People showed up at his resort with signs and blasted Mexican mariachi music. And a Greenpeace paraglider propelled very close to the president and his security with a sign that said: “TRUMP, WELL BELOW PAR #RESIST.” The man was later arrested.
Finland and Putin
Trump’s visit to Europe wrapped up in Finland where he was scheduled to have a private meeting with Putin and attend a press conference. Protests awaited him there, too. News reports estimate that scores of people protested the meeting between the leaders, which were both depicted in many images.
Several billboards in the city of Helsinki also went up that spoke to the Trumps disrespect for the media. The billboards were issued by Helsingin Sanomat — Finland’s largest newspaper.
“As we welcome the presidents to the summit in Helsinki, we @hsfi want to remind them of the importance of free press,” editor-in-chief Kaius Niemi tweeted. “300 billboards on the routes from the airport to the summit are filled with news headlines regarding presidents’ attitude towards the press freedom. #HELSINKI2018.”
