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PARIS – If you had any doubts about the Trump administration’s hostility toward Europe, here are two striking examples that should leave Europeans with no illusions.
The most shocking revelation came Monday from U.S. journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. He unexpectedly found himself added to a Signal messaging group alongside Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and several other top U.S. officials. The group’s purpose? To discuss plans for an attack on Yemen’s Houthis — an attack that ultimately took place on March 15.
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The sheer recklessness with which communication security is handled at this level of government is already astonishing. But what stands out even more is what The Atlantic’s account reveals about how Europe is discussed at the highest levels of the Trump administration.
To these leaders of the world’s most powerful nation, Europeans are nothing more than “freeloaders” — and they need to pay up.
America’s contempt for Europe
This is nothing new — Americans have long accused Europeans of not pulling their weight when it comes to the continent’s defense. Just 48 hours ago, Donald Trump reiterated that NATO without the United States is “nothing” — a statement that, while blunt, isn’t entirely untrue.
But it is quite remarkable for a European to listen to this exchange, as reported by the journalist who accidentally witnessed it. The head of the Pentagon explained that calculations were underway to “bill” Europe for the attack on the Houthis, since Europe’s businesses benefit from freedom of navigation in the region.
The vice president agreed, saying, “I just hate bailing Europe out again.” To which the Secretary of Defense responded, “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC.”
For decades, Europeans have relied on Americans for their defense, which has now sparked this “contempt” from the new rulers of the United States. The ongoing wake-up call is all the more necessary, but it doesn’t seem to be making an impression in Washington.
Greenland power play
The second example is a new twist in Greenland, the Arctic territory that belongs to Denmark and that Trump wants to seize. The wife of Vice President J.D. Vance and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz have announced they will travel to Greenland this week, despite not being invited by authorities.
For Europeans, there’s a sense of a “broken relationship”
These visits were accompanied by comments suggesting that Greenland would become American “one way or another,” a statement that the head of the local government of the Danish territory called “aggressive.”
This “aggressiveness” is once again directed at a European ally of the United States, Denmark, which sees this as a national tragedy. Trump behaves in this brutal manner with his allies, such as Canada and Denmark. Yet, at the same time, his special envoy Steve Witkoff had nothing but kind words for Vladimir Putin when negotiations on Ukraine opened in Riyadh.
For Europeans, there’s a sense of a “broken relationship” in discovering the extent of American hostility. But like in love, there is life after a breakup — and it’s important to make the most of your new life.
