Trump predicted other countries would follow England’s so-called Brexit by leaving the European Union. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Gardner said it would be “sheer folly” and “lunacy” for Trump to encourage a further breakup of the European Union given the strategic importance of the European single market to the U.S. economy. “If refugees keep pouring into different parts of Europe, I think it’s gonna be very hard to keep it together cause people are angry about it,” Trump said. Merkel shot back Monday, indicating she would no longer count on a strong U.S. role in Europe under a Trump administration. “Trump’s natural allies are those far-right Euroskeptics” who have emerged in recent years in reaction to massive immigration and other change, he said.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 17, 2017 23:50 UTC