Trump & Europe: Historic Shift – or Bump in the Road?

EXPERT INTERVIEW — Has the nearly eight-decade post-World War II transatlantic alliance just seen a paradigm shift, in a single week? Or is it more of a blip, a bump in the road for one of the globe’s most robust geopolitical relationships? Those are among questions facing the U.S. and its European allies after a dizzying series of recent developments: President Donald Trump’s outreach to Russian President Vladimir Putin; Trump’s public criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — calling him a “dictator” and blaming him for for the war in Ukraine; the sidelining of the Europeans in U.S.-led talks about ending the war in Ukraine; and a blistering attack on European democracy put forth by Vice President JD Vance.

European leaders have responded with confusion and anger. “We will decide for ourselves what happens to our democracy,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in response to Vance’s remarks. French President Emmanuel Macron, who is due to visit Trump on Monday, said he planned to tell the American president that “You can’t be weak in the face of President Putin. It’s not you, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest. How can you then be credible in the face of China if you’re weak in the face of Putin?”