The new US National Security Strategy, published on December 5, reflected the growing divide between Trump and Europe.

“A large European majority wants peace, yet that desire is not translated into policy, in large measure because of those governments’ subversion of democratic processes,” the document states. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz immediately replied that European countries do not need US help to “save democracy in Europe.”

On December 9, in an interview with Politico, Trump further criticized European countries, saying that they are “weak” and “decaying” because of their immigration policies. In a number of other speeches, the US president argued that European countries are moving in the wrong direction.

Such statements have caused confusion in European capitals, which do not know how to respond to Trump. On the one hand, they are afraid of angering him even more. On the other, they must show their people that they are not American vassals. At the same time, a number of European political figures reproached the administration, arguing that Trump’s main goal was not peace in Ukraine, but rapprochement with Russia. They were also clearly aware that the US president’s dismissive attitude towards “decaying Europe” was only part of the problems facing European leaders, including budget deficits and the growing influence of........

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