Republican Govs. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana traveled to the United Kingdom recently to try to burnish their foreign policy credentials. Next up is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is in London this week as his early-state polling numbers back home have started to tick up.
So far, Walker has managed to avoid negative press. But for other 2016 hopefuls, traveling across the pond is more like sailing into a perfect storm.
For Christie, his troubles stemmed from a puzzlingly ambiguous comment about vaccinations that unleashed a firestorm of disapproval and quickly had the governor’s aides scrambling to clarify his initial remarks. For Jindal, it was his condemnation of so-called “no-go” zones and “non-assimilation” of immigrants in Europe that had his critics agitated even after he was back on American soil.
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During Romney’s 2012 visit to London, video of London Mayor Boris Johnson, also a member of the Conservative Party, rallying a crowd to chant Obama’s famous campaign slogan “Yes we can!” became a YouTube sensation.
The pitfalls of London have some Republican strategists wondering if the potential rewards of the customary U.K. tour is even worth the risk.
“I think the benefit of visiting London is rapidly diminishing,” said one Republican foreign policy strategist. “It’s too bad Australia isn’t closer because that would be a worthwhile visit.”
