Republicans echo Trump's Brexit applause

Republicans largely met the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union on Friday with varying degrees of approval, none brighter than Donald Trump, the party's presumptive presidential nominee, who declared it a moment for Americans to follow in their ally’s footsteps and “re-declare their independence” this November.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) sounded a more cautious note, saying he respects the choice of the United Kingdom’s electorate but maintained Friday that its exit will have no impact on America’s “special relationship” with the country.


“I respect the decision made by the people of the United Kingdom,” Ryan (R-Wis.) said in a statement. “The U.K. is an indispensable ally of the United States, and that special relationship is unaffected by this vote.”

The Wisconsin Republican reiterated during a news conference that the U.K. is an “indispensable ally” and that the “very special relationship” between the U.K. and U.S. “is going to continue no matter what. Period. End of story.” He also said America values “the principle of sovereignty, self-determination, government by consent and limited government.”

“These are very important principles and these principles are being expressed here at home and around the world so we clearly understand the thinking behind these principles,” Ryan told reporters.

In a 52 percent to 48 percent vote that concluded early Friday morning, the U.K. chose to leave the EU, prompting British Prime Minister David Cameron to announce his resignation.

“Basically, they took back their country. That’s a great thing,” Trump told reporters at his Turnberry, Scotland, golf course, noting that he saw a “great parallel” between the Brexit vote and his candidacy in the U.S.

“People want to take their country back. They want to have independence, in a sense,” Trump said. “You see it with Europe, all over Europe. You’re going to have more than just what happened last night, you’re going to have, I think, many other cases where they want to take their borders back, they want to take their monetary back, they want to take a lot of things back. They want to be able to have a country again. So I think you’re going to have this happen more and more, I really believe that. I think it’s happening in the United States.”

Like Ryan, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte said she respects the U.K.’s decision, declining to paint with a broader brush.

“I think that each country, including our own, we should be able to decide our own destiny. So it was for the people of Great Britain to decide if they wanted to be part of the European Union,” she told NH1. “I respect their decision just like I hope that every country would respect our decision, our sovereignty, to make our own decisions on how we govern our country.”

But other Republicans appeared to align more with Trump’s celebratory tone than Ryan’s diplomatic approach. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin congratulated the “smart Brits” who knew it was time to leave the European Union, adding that now is America’s time.

“Good on you for ignoring all the fear mongering from special interest globalists who tend to aim for that apocalyptic One World Government that dissolves a nation's self-determination and sovereignty ... the EU being a One World Government mini-me,” the Trump surrogate wrote in a Facebook post. “America can learn an encouraging lesson from this. It is time to dissolve political bands that connect us to agendas not in our best interest. May UN shackles be next on the chopping block.”

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the first U.S. senator to endorse the real estate mogul, applauded the “wake-up call” and signaled that it was America’s turn.

“In negotiations and relationships, national leaders should first ensure they have protected the safety and legitimate interests of their own people. This principle has been eroded and Brexit is a warning for America,” Sessions said. “Our British friends have sent the message loud and clear.”

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also called the referendum “a wake-up call” and insisted that America should take notes.

“The results of the ‘Brexit’ referendum should serve as a wake-up call for internationalist bureaucrats from Brussels to Washington, D.C. that some free nations still wish to preserve their national sovereignty,” Cruz said in a statement. “The United States can learn from the referendum and attend to the issues of security, immigration and economic autonomy that drove this historic vote.”

The U.S. not only respects the British people’s decision to exercise “sovereign right of self-government,” Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said, but also celebrates their democracy.

“Meanwhile, the result of this referendum should remind leaders in Washington, London, Brussels, and across Europe that our citizens are dissatisfied with stagnant economies, declining wages, uncontrolled migration, rising crime, and terror attacks at home. It's time to abandon the failed policies of the past and solve the real problems of the present,” said Cotton, who called on the Obama administration to begin talks on a free-trade agreement with the U.K. “Now is the time to preserve and strengthen our special relationship with the United Kingdom.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee suggested Brexit is a harbinger for what will occur come November.

“Those who lead the political and financial institutions will push strongly that we ‘go along’ our path and elect ‘Hellary’ Clinton. There will be a large number (I believe a majority) who in spite of the uncertainty of specific policies, will vote to kick the political and financial institutions in their wide and arrogant rear-ends,” Huckabee wrote in a post on his website.

The former Republican presidential candidate summarized the Brexit vote as a “big shock in the UK” and “a big lesson and something to watch for in the United States.”

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson tweeted that like Americans, “the people of Great Britain have decided that they want to take their destiny into their own hands.”

Polls in the final days ahead of the vote suggested that the U.K. would choose to remain part of the EU. Brexit, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, is just “another in a long line of recent embarrassments for pollsters.”

Tyler Pager and Bianca Padró Ocasio contributed to this report.