Donald Trump called roughly a dozen foreign heads of government the day after his election victory, including leaders in Ireland, Turkey, India, Japan and Mexico.
Calls to foreign leaders is one of the first orders of business for any president-elect. In the case of Trump, however, they carry special importance given the deep uncertainty around the globe about what the the businessman will do as president. Trump spent much of his campaign railing against immigration, and touting a border wall with Mexico, and called for a temporary ban on Muslim immigrants following the deadly terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, Calif. last year.
The reportedly unorthodox order of Trump’s calls, however, seems to have caused a stir abroad.
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny was the first European Union leader to receive a call from Trump thanks to ties between the Irish embassy and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a major Trump ally, according to a report in the Irish Times. This was covered by some press outlets in the United Kingdom as a snub to May.
Trump announced Friday he is beginning the second phase of his presidential transition by replacing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with Vice President-elect Mike Pence as chairman. Christie, along with Giuliani and several other Trump allies, will serve as vice-chairs of the effort.
