By Ayse Sarioglu
ANKARA (AA) – During the long U.S. campaign season, then-candidate Donald Trump was blasted by politicians, actors, and writers for his alleged racism, sexism, and ignorance, among other faults. Now that he has been elected U.S. president, debates over Trump seem certain to rage on.
In the months leading up to Tuesday's Election Day, some well-known politicians warned that a Trump presidency would be a “disaster,” a “disgrace,” and a “grave threat”. He was also frequently compared to dictators.
In a March interview in Excelsior daily, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto compared Trump’s language to that of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
“That’s the way Mussolini got in and the way Hitler got in,” Nieto said.
- US politicians
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell blasted Trump in private emails leaked in September, saying, “Trump has no sense of shame, and [he] is a national disgrace and international pariah".
Speaking at a rally for then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in September, Vice President Joe Biden blasted Trump as a “serious threat” to U.S. foreign policy, arguing: “He is totally, thoroughly, completely uninformed. Just imagine giving this guy access to the nuclear codes.”
President Barack Obama stated in August: “The Republican candidate is not suitable for the position of president and continues to prove it,” claiming further that Trump is “demeaning women, degrading women, but also minorities, immigrants, people of other faiths, mocking the disabled, insulting our troops, [and] insulting our veterans.”
He added, “One of the most disturbing things about this election is just the unbelievable rhetoric coming from the top of the Republican ticket. I don’t need to repeat it – there are children in the room.”
Obama also said that Trump’s hot temper is “not a character trait that I would advise for someone in the Oval Office.
- Actors and writers
A number of U.S. actors also spoke out against Trump. Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence warned in October 2015, “If Donald Trump becomes president, that will be the end of the world.”
Bestselling author Stephen King told the Washington Post in September, "A Trump presidency scares me more than anything else,” and posted on Twitter in June, “Congrats, Republicans! You're about to nominate a thin-skinned racist with the temperament of a 3-year-old.”
Singer and actress Cher said on Twitter in November, “If wins, he will still be what he is now… a petty vengeful, coward‼ As Germany was in the ’30s, there’s an anger, a rage, that has consumed our [picture of American flag].”
Actor Ben Stiller said, “I can't take him seriously. But some people are taking him seriously, which is the crazy thing...” while bestselling Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling said, "How horrible. Voldemort was nowhere near as bad."
George Clooney told Britain’s The Guardian in March, “he’s just an opportunist, now he’s a fascist; a xenophobic fascist,” adding, “In election season, things go crazy, and the loudest voices are the furthest and most extreme.”
Johnny Depp said in March, “There's something created about him in the sense of bullydom, but what he is, I believe, is a brat.”
Perhaps the heaviest criticism came from Oscar winner Robert De Niro, saying, “He is a mutt who doesn't do his homework, doesn't care, thinks he's gaming society, doesn't pay his taxes."
In a video before the election, De Niro also stated, “I mean he is so blatantly stupid. He’s a punk, a dog. He’s a pig. […] Well, I'd like to punch him in the face.”
He added, “What I care about is the direction of this country and what I’m very, very worried about is that it might go in the wrong direction with someone like Donald Trump.”