-Analysis-
PARIS – For decades, anti-American attitudes have circulated in Europe. Now we are witnessing the rise of a distinctly anti-European feeling within the Trump administration. Transatlantic tensions are not new – France has played its role, from President Charles de Gaulle’s decision to withdraw from NATO military command to the episode of “Freedom Fries” after former French president Chirac refused to join the invasion in Iraq.
But like the Wall Street Journal irony notes“You knew anti-Americanism-welcome to anti-Europeanism.” The term is so unfamiliar that even spelling is uncertain.
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Never before has an American administration has been as openly hostile to the European Union – more towards the entire European project than individual member states. Donald Trump himself claimed that the EU had been created “to screw the United States”.
Meanwhile, private conversations disclosed from a reported cat, mistakenly shared with a journalist, reveal a level of animosity among the best American officials towards Europe who were expressed in suddenly direct terms.
Add to this repeated provocation of Trump on Greenland, targeted prices and, of course, its reversal of shocking politics on Ukraine, and the model of anti-European rhetoric becomes clear.
So why this sudden change?
The depth of hostility caught the Europeans surprised – even if they expected tensions with Trump’s return. Europe is barely largely large to keep Maga supporters awake at night. Most Europeans were impatient to stay under the aegis of American security and, as the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella said, was even ready to accept a kind of “happy vassalization” – as long as they were not missed, insulted or destabilized.
Model Clash
The explanation lies in a model shock. “Trump 2.0” is delivered with an ideological framework clearer than his first mandate, as well as determination to act quickly and decisively.
The European Union is built on international law, while Maga members only believe the dynamics of power. The old continent defends a social and economic model which values state intervention, while techno-liberts seek to dismantle it under the hammer of figures like Elon Musk.
Europeans are starting to understand what they have to lose
Trumpism was making war on a “awakening” – a catchy term which, in part, includes European inclusion values. A revealing example is the recent letter from the United States Embassy to French companies, asking them to abandon diversity initiatives if they wish to continue to do business with the US government.
German, French and European flagsRainer Jensen / DPA via ZumaAwakening
This total assault against Europe, personified by Vice-President JD Vance, sparked an alarm clock on the continent. Europeans are starting to understand what they lose in this shadow conflict – even those who have traditionally opposed European integration.
Opinion polls now show overwhelming support for European defense, in particular in Germany, the country historically the most attached to the aegis of American security. French sociologist Dominique Méda wrote in the The world every dayThat Europe is now perceived “as a familiar and reassuring presence”.
This awareness does not yet offer a clear roadmap for resistance, but it indicates that Europe will not be taken for a walk. It was about time.
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