Donald Trump has rattled European leaders – and now, they need to think fast
There is no disguising this now.
Plenty of Europe‘s most prominent politicians are deeply rattled by what they’ve heard from those at the top of the Trump White House and worried about the consequences.
Emmanuel Macron, inevitably, has come to the fore, once again positioning himself as the continent’s de-facto political leader.
He’ll be hosting an emergency summit at the Elysee to discuss this new world order, where America suddenly seems keen to start making friends with Russia and to begin pulling its troops out of Europe.
If that fear was there already, then three things have solidified that sense.
First, and most obviously, is the way Donald Trump has decided to set up peace talks over the future of Ukraine, excluding Europe – and perhaps even Ukraine itself – from those talks.
Ukraine, as a reminder, is on Europe’s eastern border. Its refugees have overwhelmingly fled to Europe. Its economy is tied in with Europe, as is its history and culture.
However you dress it up, the war in Ukraine affects the future of Europe more than it does the future of America.
Second is the way in which Trump has flagged up the idea of taking both Greenland and Gaza. In neither case has he suggested any moral authority, but merely that money would talk. In the case of Gaza – his own money.
For some European diplomats, it all smacks of colonialism. And Greenland is, let’s not forget, a Danish territory.
And thirdly was that speech by JD Vance, which sent a shiver down the spine of many across the European continent.
Yes, it may have been written with an American audience in mind but for most in the actual audience, sitting there in Munich, it was seen as being at once patronising and condescending, and also troubling.
That speech, I suspect, was the moment when some opinion-makers concluded that, for the moment at least, they really cannot rely on America’s loyalty.
Just look at the contempt on the face of Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, who complained about being lectured.
“We all know that JD Vance once called Trump a fascist who couldn’t be trusted,” one diplomat told me. “So is this a guy who can really talk down to us, and say how much better the world would be if only Donald Trump made all the decisions?”
While in Munich, Vance pointedly met Alice Weidel, the leader of Germany’s far right AfD party, which is running second in the polls ahead of next weekend’s election.
Her party has previously received an enthusiastic endorsement from Elon Musk. Macron, among others, has accused Musk of election interference. Old loyalties are fraying before our eyes.
It’s not uniform, of course. Trump still has plenty of friends across Europe – Viktor Orban in Hungary is a close pal and there are plenty of populists who admire Trump, and have followed his MAGA blueprint – Slovakia’s Robert Fico, for instance.
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, who was the only EU leader at Trump’s inauguration, is positioning herself as a possible transatlantic go-between.
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But most European leaders still come from the political centre ground – and seem bewildered about how to react to the strident populism now coming from the other side of the Atlantic.
They need to think fast, because there is little sign that Trump’s whirlwind is going to blow itself out.