Some top officials in Europe raced to the defense of Donald Trump on Friday, a day after the former president was convicted by a New York jury on 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records.
In the U.K. and China, the reaction was more muted. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he wouldn’t comment “on another country’s domestic politics or judicial processes,” while Chinese officials said little beyond calling for the winner of the November election to pursue “sound and stable” ties between Washington and Beijing.
The loudest support for Mr. Trump came from some of his closest European allies, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
“I’ve known [Mr. Trump] to be a man of honor. As president, he always put America first, he commanded respect around the world and used this respect to build peace. Let the people make their verdict this November! Keep on fighting, Mr. President!” Mr. Orban said in a post on X.
Mr. Orban met with Mr. Trump in March at Mar-a-Lago. The two conservative figures have a close relationship.
Other leading European officials expressed support for the former president after his conviction, which made him the first ex-U.S. president to be found guilty of felony charges.
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“Solidarity and full support for @realDonaldTrump, victim of judicial harassment and a process of political nature,” Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social media post. “In Italy, we are sadly familiar with the weaponization of the justice system by the left, given that for years attempts have been made to eliminate political opponents through legal means. I hope Trump wins; it would be a guarantee of greater balance and hope for world peace.”
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov echoed Mr. Trump’s characterization of the case brought against him by New York prosecutors, framing it as a clear example of politics infecting the criminal justice system.
“The fact that a de facto elimination of political rivals by all possible legal and illegal means is going on there is obvious,” Mr. Peskov told reporters.
While Mr. Sunak declined to comment, other prominent British officials said they would work with the next American president, whoever that may be.
“We have a special relationship with the U.S. that transcends whoever the president is, but it is an unprecedented situation, there is no doubt about that,” said Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, according to British media.
In another allied capital, Japanese officials also declined to comment directly on the jury’s verdict, according to media reports.
SEE ALSO: Trump becomes first former president to be convicted of crime
In Beijing, there was only a muted reaction from government officials.
“I will not comment on the U.S. presidential election or any other U.S. domestic affair. We hope that whoever gets elected will be committed to growing sound and stable China-U.S. ties, because it will be in the interest of both countries and both peoples,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
But the nationalistic state-controlled Global Times was far less restrained in reporting on the verdict and its aftermath. The news website quoted Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, prominently in its analysis of the U.S. case.
“The attitudes of both parties further reflect the rottenness of American politics, and that the law now seems to be used as a political weapon,” the professor said.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.