If Trump wins the U.S. presidential election, there could be quite substantial changes to the foreign policy of the United States, as, taking into account Trump's statements, he has preached isolationist ideas and has criticized NATO.
''He has said that if any NATO member does not reach the defense spending threshold of two percent of GDP, the U.S. would not assist this country, which is dangerous,'' the expert told the LETA news service.
''He also has not expressed much criticism towards authoritarian leaders around the work and is ready to cooperate with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump is by far the most pro-Russian candidate. Putin has also had positive things to say about Trump's candidacy. Trump has also stated that he likes Putin's leadership style, and has mentioned he would certainly deal with Russia. This raises concerns that he could ''gift'' to Russia Crimea and Eastern Ukraine in exchange for Russian cooperation in the Islamic State,'' Hirss points out.
Hirss also pointed out to the fact that Trump is very unpredictable, and nobody can tell at the moment what the eccentric billionaires foreign policy might be if he becomes president.
Meanwhile, the left-leaning Democratic candidate, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, is also not a very favorable candidate for the Baltics and Eastern Europe, as he has criticized the fact that the United States is paying too much for the security of others. However, unlike Trump, he has never said that the U.S. will not defend anyone. At the same time, Sanders has been quite critical of Putin. ''But he has also said that cooperation with Russian pragmatic to fight the Islamic State and tackle other global matters,'' he added.
Hirss said that the most favorable U.S. presidential candidate for the Baltics and Eastern Europe would be Hillary Clinton. ''Clinton is the most favorable candidate for the military security of the Baltic and Eastern Europe and in her views on Russia. Clinton is very critical towards Russia and believes Russia is attempting to divide Europe and NATO, as well as attempting to exert its influence in the Baltics and financing various organizations throughout the continent.
She has called Putin a tyrant who attempts to intimidate its neighbors. She has also criticized current U.S. President Barack Obama for being to weak, and it is likely she will try to show a strong U.S. presence. Furthermore, she also has experience in dealing with Putin. If we are ranking the remaining candidates, Trump would be the worst, followed by Sanders, while Clinton would be the most favorable candidate,'' Hirss said.
The U.S. presidential elections will take place in November.
