- Watch full interview below
New Zealand would not want to see Donald Trump back in the White House while criminal charges against him were still before the courts, Professor Robert Patman says.
This week, the former United States president pleaded not guilty to charges related to hush money paid to a porn movie actor. Other investigations are under way.
Prof Patman described the combination of court proceedings against Mr Trump and his presidency bid as having ‘‘substantial’’ implications.
‘‘The danger here is that . . . if he gets re-elected that may actually interfere with the four investigations,’’ Prof Patman said.
The international relations specialist said politicians from New Zealand’s main political parties were in agreement on the issue.
‘‘I think this is a bipartisan approach among both Labour and National; we’d like to see that legal process pursued to its logical conclusion, that is, without interference from politics.
‘‘It certainly wouldn’t be in the interest of liberal democracies, like New Zealand, if we were aligned to countries where people were seen to be above the law.’’
On Global Insight, Prof Patman also spoke about which countries stood to gain from a second Trump presidency and outlined lessons New Zealand could learn from the state of US politics.
