A senior European diplomat said that “we are trying to mobilize as many Republicans as possible and people around” Trump to try to win his ear, but that “it’s very difficult.”
Some British government officials say Britain is uniquely positioned among European nations to lend an ear to Trump. The ex-president has shown himself to be rather an Anglophile and has frequently expressed his admiration for the royal family.
Britain also has a long record of meeting NATO demands on defense spending, and ministers hope the UK can lead a coalition made up of Germany, France and Poland to show the United States that Europe can and will do its part. Poland, like several other Eastern European countries, is already spending well above the 2% target set by NATO.
Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director of the London-based defense think tank RUSI, said that “it is likely, as was the case under the last Trump administration, that there is more potential for a relationship with the United Kingdom “.
He added: “I think the way the American debate is evolving is that the more Europeans do for their own defense, the less Americans will feel obligated to do.
“All the Americans on the other side, especially the Republicans, but also many Democrats are saying, ‘Look, the Europeans have to help us – the main fight we’re going to have over the next period is with China.’ “
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