America the adversary: Trump can still do much more to alienate Europe

NATO is in deep trouble. Not that the alliance is about to break apart anytime soon; rather, the trust that underpins it is frittering away.

Mistrust, and in some cases outright hostility, characterizes the relationship between the U.S., NATO’s most powerful partner, and a good part of the rest of the alliance.

From President Trump’s perspective, the alliance has proved itself useless at a time when America needed its support. He now calls NATO a “paper tiger.” With the Iran War in ceasefire, Trump has lashed out at the NATO allies for not sending forces to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He scolded them on his Truth Social platform  “You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself; the U.S.A. Won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us.”

He repeated his complaint in a speech last Wednesday: “Build up some delayed courage. Should have done it before. Should have done it with us as we asked”

Trump has directed his anger not only at those NATO states that have not sent forces to help keep the strait open, but also that have denied American forces logistical support. Although Italy has refused landing rights to American aircraft, Trump singled out France for not allowing “planes headed for Israel, loaded up with military supplies,” to fly over French territory, employing his characteristic all caps as he called it “VERY UNHELPFUL.”

France actually does permit American aircraft to land at French bases for refueling, although not as a springboard for offensive operations. Moreover, as numerous senior French military and civilian........

© The Hill