If elected president, Trump poses great threat to world: EIU

The election of Donald Trump as the president of the United States would pose a grave danger to the world, a British research organization has warned.

In its global risk assessment released on Thursday, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked the leading Republican candidate’s election as a 12 on a scale of one to 25, describing the real-estate magnate as equally dangerous as (Takfiri) terrorism.

The Manhattan businessman’s “exceptionally hostile” policies towards free trade, and his support for putting troops on the ground in Syria were two of EIU’s main reasons to put Trump on their list.

His pledges to deport immigrants, specially Mexicans, and to build a wall on the border with Mexico were also mentioned.

“In the event of a Trump victory, his hostile attitude to free trade, and alienation of Mexico and China in particular, could escalate rapidly into a trade war – and at the least scupper the Trans-Pacific Partnership between the US and 11 other American and Asian states signed in February 2016,” the report said.

Trump is currently the favorite to win the Republican nomination, holding 673 number of delegates out of the 1,237 needed.

He scored major wins in key states of Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and Missouri on Tuesday to further cement his leadership over the GOP field, where Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is a distant second with 411 delegates.

Trump could defeat Clinton

According to the EIU, there was “a moderate probability” of Trump winning November’s presidential election, which would in turn lead to serious conflict in Washington.

“Although we do not expect Mr. Trump to defeat his most likely Democratic contender, Hillary Clinton, there are risks to this forecast, especially in the event of a terrorist attack on US soil or a sudden economic downturn,” the report said.

“It is worth noting that the innate hostility within the Republican hierarchy towards Mr. Trump, combined with the inevitable virulent Democratic opposition, will see many of his more radical policies blocked in Congress – albeit such internal bickering will also undermine the coherence of domestic and foreign policymaking.”

Many party officials have warned against Trump’s nomination, demanding a contested convention to choose their own favorite candidate.

Trump, who has no prior political experience, has said his supporters would "riot" if he was denied the nomination.

Other top threats

According to EIU, with a rating of 25, the deterioration of China’s manufacturing and service sectors poses the greatest threat to the world today.

If China’s economy growth was slowed down by more than currently expected it would leave a “hugely detrimental impact” on emerging markets in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, as well as a “severe knock-on effect” on Europe and the US.

Russia’s military intervention in Syria and Ukraine was next on the list, with EIU warning that it might lead to a new Cold War.

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