President Donald Trump has sharply criticised Europe, describing the continent as a “decaying” collection of nations led by “weak” leaders.
In an interview with Politico, he accused long-standing US allies of failing to curb migration or bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, and signaled that he is prepared to endorse European political figures who share his policy views.
“I think they’re weak,” Trump said of Europe’s political leaders. “But I also think that they want to be so politically correct.”
“I think they don’t know what to do,” he added. “Europe doesn’t know what to do.”
The remarks amount to Trump’s strongest public attack yet on European political leadership, escalating tensions with countries such as France and Germany, whose relations with his administration are already deeply strained.
Trump’s comments on Europe also come at a particularly sensitive moment in efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, as European leaders worry that the president may leave Ukraine and its continental allies vulnerable to Russian aggression.
In the interview, Trump offered no reassurance, asserting that Russia is “obviously in a stronger position than Ukraine.”
His assertive stance on Europe contrasted sharply with his comments on domestic issues.
This fall, Trump and his party faced electoral setbacks and mounting dysfunction in Congress amid voter dissatisfaction over the high cost of living.
In the interview, he rated the economy’s performance as an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus,” claimed that prices were falling across the board, and declined to offer a concrete solution to anticipated spikes in health care premiums.
Trump’s influence on global affairs
Despite turmoil at home, Trump continues to exert significant influence on international affairs.
European capitals were recently unsettled by the release of Trump’s new National Security Strategy, a provocative document that positioned his administration against the mainstream European political establishment and vowed to “cultivate resistance” to the European status quo on immigration and other contentious issues.
In the interview, Trump elaborated on that worldview, describing cities such as London and Paris as straining under migration from the Middle East and Africa.
Without stricter border policies, he warned, some European states “will not be viable countries any longer.”
Targeting London’s left-wing mayor, Sadiq Khan, the son of Pakistani immigrants and the city’s first Muslim mayor, Trump called him a “disaster” and blamed his election on immigration, saying, “He gets elected because so many people have come in. They vote for him now.”
In response, European Council President António Costa on Monday criticised the Trump administration for the National Security Strategy, urging the White House to respect Europe’s sovereignty and its right to self-government.
“Allies do not threaten to interfere in the democratic life or the domestic political choices of these allies,” Politico quoted Costa as saying. “They respect them,” Costa added.
Trump said he would continue to support his preferred candidates in European elections, even if it risked offending local sensitivities.
“I’d endorse,” Politico quoted Trump as saying, adding, “I’ve endorsed people, but I’ve endorsed people that a lot of Europeans don’t like. I’ve endorsed Viktor Orbán,” referring to the hard-right Hungarian prime minister, whom he praised for his border-control policies.
Russia-Ukraine war Trump’s primary focus
However, the Russia-Ukraine war appeared to be Trump’s primary focus. On Monday, he claimed to have presented a new draft peace plan that some Ukrainian officials had welcomed, though President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had not yet reviewed it.
“It would be nice if he would read it,” Trump said.
Zelenskyy met with leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom on Monday, reaffirming his opposition to ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia under a peace deal.
Trump expressed skepticism about Europe’s role in ending the conflict, saying, “They talk, but they don’t produce, and the war just keeps going on and on.”
In a further challenge to Zelenskyy, whose political position in Ukraine has been weakened by a corruption scandal, Trump reiterated his call for new elections.
“They haven’t had an election in a long time,” Trump said. “You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.”
Trump’s Latin America strategy
Even as he promotes a peace agenda abroad, Trump signaled he could expand US military actions in Latin America against drug-related targets. The president has already deployed substantial forces to the Caribbean to strike alleged drug traffickers and pressure Venezuela’s authoritarian regime.
In the interview, Trump repeatedly declined to rule out sending American troops into Venezuela to remove President Nicolás Maduro, whom he blames for exporting drugs and dangerous individuals to the US.
Some conservative leaders have warned that a ground invasion would be a red line for voters who supported Trump to end foreign conflicts.
“I don’t want to rule in or out. I don’t talk about it,” Trump told Politico, adding, “I don’t want to talk to you about military strategy.”
He also indicated that force could be used against drug operations in other countries, including Mexico and Colombia.
With inputs from agencies
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