Why The Trump World Dislikes Europe So Deeply — And What Europe Can Do About It

-Analysis-

PARIS — For decades, anti-American attitudes circulated around Europe. Now, we are witnessing the rise of a distinctly anti-European sentiment within the Trump administration. Transatlantic tensions are nothing new — France has played its part, from President Charles de Gaulle’s decision to withdraw from NATO’s military command to the “freedom fries” episode after former French President Chirac refused to join the Iraq invasion.

But as the Wall Street Journal wryly notes, “You knew anti-Americanism — welcome to anti-Europeanism.” The term is so unfamiliar that even spelling it feels uncertain.

Never before has a U.S. administration been so openly hostile toward the European Union — more so towards the entire European project than the individual member states. Donald Trump himself falsely claimed that the EU was created “to screw over the United States.”

Meanwhile, private conversations leaked from a Signal chat, mistakenly shared with a journalist, reveal a level of animosity among top American officials toward Europe that were expressed in brutally direct terms.

Add to this Trump’s repeated provocations over Greenland, targeted tariffs, and, of course, his shocking policy reversal on Ukraine, and the pattern of anti-European rhetoric becomes clear.

So why this sudden shift?

The depth of the hostility has taken Europeans by surprise — even though they expected tensions with Trump’s return. Europe hardly poses a threat significant enough to keep MAGA supporters awake at night. Most Europeans were eager to remain under the U.S. security umbrella and, as Italian President Sergio Mattarella put it, were even willing to accept a kind of “happy vassalization” — as long as they weren’t disrespected, insulted, or destabilized.

Clash of models

The explanation lies in a clash of models. “Trump 2.0” comes with a clearer ideological framework than his first term, along with a determination to act swiftly and decisively.

The European Union is built on international law, whereas MAGA adherents believe only in power dynamics. The Old Continent defends a social and economic model that values state intervention, while techno-libertarians seek to dismantle it under the hammer of figures like Elon Musk.

Europeans are beginning to grasp what they stand to lose

Trumpism wages war on “wokeism”—a catch-all term that, in part, includes European values of inclusion. A telling example is the U.S. embassy’s recent letter to French businesses, instructing them to abandon diversity initiatives if they wish to continue doing business with the American government.

Wake-up call

This all-out assault against Europe, personified above all by Vice President JD Vance, has triggered a wake-up call on the continent. Europeans are beginning to grasp what they stand to lose in this shadow conflict — even those who have traditionally opposed European integration.

Opinion polls now show overwhelming support for European defense, particularly in Germany, the country historically most committed to the American security umbrella. French sociologist Dominique Méda wrote in the Le Monde daily that Europe is now perceived “as a familiar and reassuring presence.”

This realization doesn’t yet offer a clear roadmap for resistance, but it signals that Europe will not let itself be taken for a ride. It was about time.