"For the last nine months, European leaders have bitten their tongues, looked the other way and engaged in flattery, appeasement and wild promises to keep the US president sweet and engaged in European security. The overwhelming imperative for Trump to stand with Europe against Russia over its war on Ukraine or at least not against us and alongside Vladimir Putin has led them to swallow unrealistic defence spending targets and unbalanced trade terms."
"No European leader has publicly contradicted Trump's inflated claims to have ended eight wars in eight months, nor criticised his demolition of the multilateral rules-based free trade order, his assault on the United Nations, or his selective use of tariffs to pursue political vendettas around the world. The only time European leaders briefly found their voices was when JD Vance used the stage of the Munich security conference to launch a fierce attack on European democracy."
European leaders have flattered and appeased Donald Trump for months to maintain US engagement in European security, tolerating unrealistic defence spending demands and unbalanced trade terms. They have not publicly challenged Trump's claims about ending wars, his undermining of multilateral free trade, his assaults on the United Nations, or his selective tariffs used as political vendettas. Only briefly did leaders react when JD Vance attacked European democracy in Munich, accusing allies of suppressing free speech and courting far-right figures like AfD leader Alice Weidel while snubbing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Millions of Americans are protesting Trump's authoritarian drift, prompting calls for Europe to assert moral autonomy.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]