Rancor between the US and Europe intensified Tuesday after President Donald Trump said the continent is run by “weak” leaders.
His remark to Politico came days after Washington’s new national security strategy excoriated the EU and suggested it is facing civilizational decline. Reactions from the bloc are a mixture of astonishment, concern, and “a reaffirmation of [Europe’s] status as a place of freedom and democratic values, although the latter is somewhat timid,” Spain’s El Mundo wrote.
Responding to Trump’s latest attack, the European Council president said “allies behave with each other.” Washington’s allies haven’t yet defected, two experts wrote in Foreign Affairs, but they will inevitably seek other partners to “protect themselves against American irresponsibility.”