Does Europe Finally Realize It’s Alone?

Washington’s new National Security Strategy ratifies an adversarial relationship.

Ursula von der Leyen in Riga, Latvia December 5, 2025, 12:36 PM

Trump’s Second Term

Ongoing reports and analysis

Europeans lulled themselves into the belief that U.S. President Donald Trump is unpredictable and inconsistent but ultimately manageable. This is strangely reassuring, but wrong. From U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance’s speech denigrating Europe at the Munich Security Conference in February to the new U.S. National Security Strategy that was released on Dec. 4, the Trump administration has long had a clear and consistent vision for Europe: one that prioritizes U.S.-Russia ties and seeks to divide and conquer the continent, with much of the dirty work

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