PARIS (Reuters) – European Parliament President Martin Schulz said on Saturday that neither Europe nor the United States was prepared for a Donald Trump presidency as the likely Republican candidate had no international experience and was a populist.
“Trump belongs to these people that we also have here in Europe, who have a scapegoat for all issues but never have a concrete solution,” Schulz told French television i-Tele.
“Honestly, I prefer another candidate,” he said, referring to Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State.
Schulz, a German Social Democrat, is president — or speaker — of the European Union’s directly elected parliament, whose 751 members have the power to approve, amend or reject legislation affecting the whole 28-country bloc.
Billionaire Trump has a significant lead in primary contests for the Republican nomination for November’s election to the White House. He has drawn fervent support as well as harsh criticism for his calls to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and to impose a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.
A Trump rally scheduled for Friday night in Chicago was cancelled after the event turned into a chaotic scene, with thousands of attendees split into opposing camps of his supporters and protesters inflamed by his candidacy.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Catherine Evans)
