Steven Everts
Since his inauguration, Donald Trump has unleashed a torrent of initiatives, threats and decisions upon the world. Each day brings a new target and another broken taboo. Last autumn, discussions focused on how to ‘Trump-proof’ the transatlantic relationship. Plans were in place to counter his threats – whether imposing tariffs on European trade or linking America’s NATO commitments to increased European defence spending, preferably on US-made weapons.
But what we are seeing now is more radical and more damaging. There is something akin to a ‘cultural revolution’ underway, characterised by ideological extremism, the silencing of internal critics and the imperative of loyalty to the leader. In six short weeks, Trump and his team have threatened to seize European territory, abandoned Ukraine while bullying its president, aligned with Europe’s far right, and attacked the EU’s regulatory autonomy in the tech sphere.
Shockwaves are reverberating across Europe, triggering a flurry of crisis meetings in different configurations as leaders scramble to respond. Meanwhile, European public opinion is ahead of its politicians. Trust in the US among Germans has plummeted from 84% to just 16%, only slightly above Russia’s 6%. Strikingly, support for Europe’s populists is waning, suggesting a recognition among voters that the Trump tornado is harmful to European interests.
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