Key Takeaways
- Trump is treating the European Union as a competitor and even an adversary, as a force that is actively undermining the U.S. economy and the American people.
- Trump shares with Europe’s rising national conservative parties the view that far too much power is in the hands of Brussels.
- Americans increasingly hold that the European Union does not advance their interests, and stands against the principles of liberty and sovereignty.
Donald Trump has not held back from blasting the European Union since returning to the White House.
In the first cabinet meeting of his second term, Trump bluntly stated that the EU was “formed in order to screw the United States” before previewing 25 per cent tariffs against Brussels.
The contrast with America’s last president, Joe Biden, and his vice president, Kamala Harris, could not be greater.
Biden, like most Democrats in Washington (including his predecessor, Barack Obama), was a diehard Eurofederalist who ludicrously proclaimed in a speech before the European Parliament in 2010 that Brussels could claim to be the “capital of the free world.”
Gone are the days of Biden’s obsequiousness. Trump is treating the European Union as a competitor and even an adversary, as a force that is actively undermining the U.S. economy and the American people.
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In Trump’s eyes, the EU has operated as a mafia style protectionist racket that floods the U.S. with exports while charging heavy penalties against American producers, including automakers and farmers.
This is especially the case with the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, which was established primarily to protect French farmers from global competition.
The U.S. president wants to see a level playing field with Europe on the trade front, and more jobs for American workers. His America First approach is strongly backed by blue-collar, working-class voters who propelled him back to power last November.
Trump is also driven by ideology, with a deep-seated distrust of supranationalism, big government and socialism, all of which run through the veins of the EU.
As Elon Musk put it so eloquently, the EU’s Brussels headquarters is a giant “cathedral to bureaucracy” hamstrung by red tape, heavy taxes and over regulation—one that seeks to exert its authority as well over U.S. companies operating in Europe.
Trump shares with Europe’s rising national conservative parties the view that far too much power is in the hands of Brussels and that sovereignty and self-determination is under threat.
In his first term, Trump was a huge supporter of Brexit, which he believed help pave the way for his own historic win against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Britain’s exit from the EU was a political revolution against arrogant and unelected bureaucrats that had lorded it over the British people for decades.
Trump’s team was inspired by the Brexit victory, and the triumph of the Brexiteers played a vital role in challenging the globalist elites who were deeply entrenched in Washington as well.
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Trump is America’s first Eurosceptic president and the only American president to actively stand up to the European Project. He should be applauded for doing so.
The United Kingdom should also warmly welcome Trump’s approach on Europe. The U.S. president is the most pro-British since Ronald Reagan, and his skepticism of the EU will benefit America’s closest friend and ally.
Brexit Britain will likely avoid the tariffs that are heading towards the EU, and Trump has already highlighted the strong possibility of a trade agreement between London and Washington, a deal that would advance job creation and economic growth in both the U.S. and UK.
Instead of trying to curry favor with Brussels and move the UK back towards realignment with the European Union, Keir Starmer should be strengthening British ties with the United States and outflanking the EU.
Donald Trump recognizes that the EU is in steep decline, and that Europe would be better off free of its shackles. This refreshing and realistic approach by the U.S. President is long overdue.
Like the British people in 2016, Americans increasingly hold that the European Union does not advance their interests, and stands against the principles of liberty and sovereignty that are the foundations of the English-speaking world.
This piece originally appeared in The Telegraph
