Over the past few months, Trump’s inauguration has sparked much controversy. The policies and beliefs of Trump have been hotly debated among those with fiercely opposing viewpoints. Surprisingly, the inauguration of Trump is actually quite similar to Brexit, the British exit from the European Union on June 23, 2016, in multiple ways.
The most apparent similarity is that both Brexit and Trump’s inauguration strayed away from the “status quo.” For years Britain has been part of the European Union and its recent departure came as a shock to many. Meanwhile, Hillary was clearly more similar to past president Barack Obama in her Democratic ideals, while Trump’s platform seemed to hold many more radical beliefs, most notably on immigration, another similarity between the two events.
Both the presidential inauguration and Brexit revolved greatly on immigrant and trade policies that many native-borns felt were unfair. Britain’s slogan of “Britain is full up” and Trump’s xenophobia both show negative attitudes and dislike for immigration.
Lastly, both were unhappy with their current vote. Trump called the electoral college a “rigged system” and at the time many of the British did not like their voting system, which Churchill, former prime minister, called the “worst system.”