Is Trump Good for Europe?

Donald Trump doesn’t like the European Union and he’s not afraid to tell people. “The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States.” “The EU treats us very, very unfairly, very badly,” "They put tariffs on things that we want to do … We have some very big complaints with the EU.” His answer, of course, is tariffs, “taking back” American companies, and ignoring Europe as he reaches out directly to Moscow without bothering to consult America’s allies.



And then there’s Ukraine, where President Trump demands the Europeans follow him as he shifts policy from President Biden's “Whatever it takes, as long as it takes" to his demand to "Stop the killing." The problem is that neither Ukraine nor Europe seems willing to follow on Ukraine or much of anything else.



A few days ago, a French senator gave a widely quoted speech calling Trump a "traitor." And that country's defense minister recently said, "Europe's problem is the unpredictability of our American partner, not the Russians.” Freidrich Merz, the incoming German chancellor added, “It is clear that [Trump] does not care much about the fate of Europe,” More bluntly, the EU's foreign minister insisted “The free world needs a new leader." 



Trump is often more bark than bite. But this time feels different and Europeans are scrambling not just to respond to the barking, but—maybe—to escape their usual habit of muddling through crisis after crisis. Could it be that Donald Trump will emerge as the spark that makes Europe great again?



Two former foreign ministers, Ana Palacio of Spain and Vygaudas Usackas of Lithuania, both hope so. In this episode of New Thinking for a New World they share their criticisms of Trump, but also of Europe’s past failure to act in its own interests. And they discuss what needs to be done to put Europe on a better track.



Could Trump be good for Europe? Tell us what you think and comment here.