BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Former U.S. President Donald Trump slammed Spain’s far right in a video shown at a rally in Madrid that also included messages from Europe’s top populist stars, including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
In the less than 0-second recording made while Trump was on the plane, Trump thanked the Spanish far-right party Vox and its leader Santiago Abascal for the “great job” they did. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are selling their home in San Francisco for $31 million. ” said Trump. “Spain is a great country and we want to keep it a great country. Congratulations Vox for so many great messages you have delivered to the people of Spain and the world.
Vox gained national attention in Spain’s political landscape in 2019 when it became the third-largest force in the Spanish parliament after elections that led to the National Left Alliance, which is still in power. Vox’s posts include zero tolerance for Catalan separatism, disdain for gender equality, rants against illegal immigration from Africa, and the appropriation of the medieval Spanish “reconquest” of Islam and the legacy of General Francisco Franco. 20th-century dictatorship.
Abascal responded to the compliment when he took the stage at the outdoor event after video messages from right-wing politicians in Europe and South America and an emotional speech from Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
“Thank you to President Donald Trump, a visionary in the fight for independent countries, a visionary in the fight for secure borders, who had to suffer (attacks) from the most powerful ruler in the world and the biggest media attack that the world leader has. had to face recently,” Abascal told a crowd of several thousand, many of whom waved red and yellow Spanish flags.
Despite its spectacular rise, the party led by Abascal has not lived up to the expectations it was set up for. entered the regionals of that year and suffered the first bout of serious infighting between its leaders. Vox is now looking ahead to next year’s regional and local elections to overtake Spain’s traditional conservatives.
The annual demonstration comes just weeks after Abascal and the rest of Europe’s extreme right celebrated the victory of Meloni’s neo-fascist party, the Italian brothers.
Meloni’s taped message lasted several minutes and focused on his priorities in preparation for the Italian premiere: establishing an energy price ceiling in the European Union and restoring financial self-sufficiency.
Meloni’s victory worried European Union leaders that Italy, the bloc’s third largest economy, may prioritize national interests, as Hungary and Poland do.
“We are not monsters, people understand that. Long live Vox, long live Spain, long live Italy, long live the patriots of Europe,” said Meloni. “Only by winning in our countries can Europe become the political giant we want, not the bureaucratic giant.”
The Vox meeting was also attended by former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe, Chilean right-wing politician José Antonio Kast, daughter of the former interim president of Bolivia Jeanine Añez, and Republican US senator Ted Cruz.
“On the one hand there is the global elite and the global left, which is becoming increasingly shameless and violent, on the other hand, there are conservative populists who share the values of God, country, family, and freedom”, said Cruz. . “Sometimes the left makes dangerous gains, as we saw in Colombia. Sometimes the good guys win, as we saw in Italy.”
Cruz said he hoped the gains of the global right would include a significant victory for Republicans in next month’s US midterm elections. Trump campaigned for right-wing candidates in the Nov. 8 election and is considering another presidential run.
