After Trumps victory, the world is left to

wonder: What happened to America?

By Griff Witte and Simon Denyer November 9

LONDON Allies recoiled. Adversaries rejoiced. And on the day

after U.S. voters made Donald Trump the countrys 45th president, the
world was left to collectively wonder: What happened to America?
The question hung in the air even as once-unthinkable congratulatory
messages poured into Trump Tower from capitals across the globe.
Foreign leaders who had spent months disparaging the Republican
nominee as unfit for office were forced to reckon with the reality that
he will soon govern the worlds sole superpower. U.S. foes who may
have only dreamed of a Trump presidency seemed to scarcely believe
their good fortune.
Through it all on Wednesday was a palpable sense that Trumps
stunning victory could fundamentally transform the global order
though in this endlessly unpredictable year, no one dared forecast
exactly how.
We have no idea what this American president is going to do, when
this voice of anger will be the most powerful man in the world,
Norbert Rttgen, chairman of the German Parliaments foreign affairs
committee, told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. Whether he
knows his allies and friends, how he is going to approach Vladimir
Putin, an authoritarian ruler, how he is going to act when it comes to
the question of nuclear armament, all these questions are completely
open.
That profound uncertainty was masked by a succession of bland
statements from Trumps soon-to-be counterparts among the ranks of
global leaders.

Through gritted teeth, democratically elected allies congratulated

Trump on his victory and promised business as usual.
In Britain where the Parliament in January debated banning Trump
from even visiting the country Prime Minister Theresa May said her
nation and the United States had an enduring and special relationship
based on the values of freedom, democracy and enterprise. That, she
insisted, would carry forward under Trump.
Global autocrats were far more enthusiastic.
News of the Republicans victory was greeted with broad smiles and a
round of applause in the lower house of the Russian parliament. In a
Moscow ceremony to welcome new ambassadors, Putin referenced
Trumps call for warmer ties and said Russia is ready and willing to
restore full-fledged relations with the United States.
We have no idea what this American president is going to do, when
this voice of anger will be the most powerful man in the world,
Norbert Rttgen, chairman of the German Parliaments foreign affairs
committee, told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. Whether he
knows his allies and friends, how he is going to approach Vladimir
Putin, an authoritarian ruler, how he is going to act when it comes to
the question of nuclear armament, all these questions are completely
open.
That profound uncertainty was masked by a succession of bland
statements from Trumps soon-to-be counterparts among the ranks of
global leaders.
Through gritted teeth, democratically elected allies congratulated
Trump on his victory and promised business as usual.

In Britain where the Parliament in January debated banning Trump

from even visiting the country Prime Minister Theresa May said her
nation and the United States had an enduring and special relationship
based on the values of freedom, democracy and enterprise. That, she
insisted, would carry forward under Trump.
Global autocrats were far more enthusiastic.