Clingendael welcomed journalist Twan Huys for an exchange of thoughts with the Institute's staff on the political situation in the US. The former US correspondent in New York and Washington D.C. gave his insights in the American political landscape and the current electoral campaign for the presidency. During the sixty-minute encounter, specific attention was given to what now seem to be the winning candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican ‘the Donald’ Trump.

 

Who will eventually move into the White House? Will Hillary Clinton be able to hold her own and be as vitriolic and insulting as her opponent has turned out to be? Bernie Sanders is expected to throw in the towel at some point, but until that happens how damaging can he be for Hillary Clinton? 

 

It does not seem likely that Donald Trump will be stopped by his fellow Republicans. So what will happen next? If he becomes the 45th President of the United States, who will be his most important advisors? What will his cabinet look like? Will he have a clear foreign policy? How will the relations between Europe and the US unfold, and how will Trump deal with the other superpowers? Will he and Putin keep each other at bay, or will there be an escalation, possibly involving NATO? And where does that leave Erdogan?

 

Twan Huys presented an array of interesting scenarios, based on the vast knowledge and experience he gained from his seven years as US correspondent.

 

Twan Huys is a journalist, television presenter and author. As a US correspondent he reported on the presidential elections, the 9-11 attacks in New York and Washington, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. He is presenter of the Dutch TV news show Nieuwsuur and hosts the TV show College Tour, which format he invented: an interview with one individual prominent guest and debate with a studio audience. In two of his books Twan Huys presents the most prominent interviews, with a.o. actresses Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon and Carice van Houten, former US Secretary Madeleine Albright, soccer legend Johan Cruyff, singer and composer Sting, actor Richard Gere, tycoon Richard Branson and notorious convict Willem Holleeder. Recently his book De Clintons (the Clintons) was published:  the story about the most famous and influential couple in the US, Bill and Hillary Clinton.