Trump’s Anti-Europe Doctrine
The White House puts in writing a sinister view of the world that disregards Atlanticism and depicts a subjugated Latin America.
The new National Security Strategy published by the White House has challenged recent doubts about the feared breakdown of the trans-Atlantic bond that has closely linked Europe and the U.S. since the end of World War II. The declared enemy of Trumpism is neither Russia nor China, but rather the European Union, a regulatory power and the host of immigrants, with its institutions and countries standing in solidarity with Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.
With this document, published on Friday, Donald Trump’s administration radically broke from the strategy that he himself approved eight years ago during his first term of office, when he still believed that “[a] strong and free Europe is of vital importance to the United States” and he stood by “our shared commitment to the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law.” The new foreign policy for the three remaining years of his presidency extols the illiberal and authoritarian ideas and principles of populists of the extreme right and adopts Vladmir Putin’s arguments regarding the future of Ukraine. It constitutes both interference in the domestic policy of European countries and neutralization of European efforts to avoid the defeat and humiliation of Ukraine.
The strategy of permanent submission of Europe was articulated explicitly, following the imposition of unilateral tariffs on the European Commission, its submissive acceptance of the 5% increase in NATO funding and the alienation of Europe in future plans for Gaza and Ukraine. It’s also the defiant and disrespectful response to the sycophantic diplomacy of many leaders, including NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The goal is to continue to twist the arm of Europe and sooner rather than later abandon the security and defense commitments that have been in place for 80 years. Thus, it will write off the EU and NATO, the former through the regulatory disarmament it demands for tech companies, and the latter through the stagnation of the alliance’s expansion policy to satisfy Putin.
The U.S. also makes official that it views Latin America as its backyard, a region at its service. It’s been given a name: the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which was defined 200 years ago by the slogan “America for the Americans.” It proposes to “restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere” and it counts on governments aligned with its nationalist populism, such as El Salvador and Argentina, as allies. Cold-blooded murder delivered by missiles targeting boats in the Caribbean is merely the expression of a strategy in which the U.S. aims to assert its power as far as necessary to defend itself against the obsessions of Trumpism: drugs and migration — the only characteristics that, in the mind of the administration, all Latin American countries share.
The predatory nature of the language used by the White House stands out in a new world order in competition with Russia and China. Rather than political systems or democratic values, what matters are the raw economic interests of the multibillionaire elite, whether they’re Russian, Arab or American, who propelled Trump to power and supported his policies with their own interests in mind.
Everything is hyperbolic and extraordinary in Trumpism, including this strategy, which was presented as a “roadmap to ensure that America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history.” This document will help historians understand this moment in time. But its eloquence can also enlighten the citizens of European and Latin American democracies regarding the caliber of this threat, and the danger to leaders who don’t want to take notice.
The new National Security Strategy published by the White House has challenged recent doubts about the feared breakdown of the trans-Atlantic bond that has closely linked Europe and the U.S. since the end of World War II. The declared enemy of Trumpism is neither Russia nor China, but rather the European Union, a regulatory power and the host of immigrants, with its institutions and countries standing in solidarity with Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.
With this document, published on Friday, Donald Trump’s administration radically broke from the strategy that he himself approved eight years ago during his first term of office, when he still believed that “[a] strong and free Europe is of vital importance to the United States” and he stood by “our shared commitment to the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law.” The new foreign policy for the three remaining years of his presidency extols the illiberal and authoritarian ideas and principles of populists of the extreme right and adopts Vladmir Putin’s arguments regarding the future of Ukraine. It constitutes both interference in the domestic policy of European countries and neutralization of European efforts to avoid the defeat and humiliation of Ukraine.
The strategy of permanent submission of Europe was articulated explicitly, following the imposition of unilateral tariffs on the European Commission, its submissive acceptance of the 5% increase in NATO funding and the alienation of Europe in future plans for Gaza and Ukraine. It’s also the defiant and disrespectful response to the sycophantic diplomacy of many leaders, including NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The goal is to continue to twist the arm of Europe and sooner rather than later abandon the security and defense commitments that have been in place for 80 years. Thus, it will write off the EU and NATO, the former through the regulatory disarmament it demands for tech companies, and the latter through the stagnation of the alliance’s expansion policy to satisfy Putin.
The U.S. also makes official that it views Latin America as its backyard, a region at its service. It’s been given a name: the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which was defined 200 years ago by the slogan “America for the Americans.” It proposes to “restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere” and it counts on governments aligned with its nationalist populism, such as El Salvador and Argentina, as allies. Cold-blooded murder delivered by missiles targeting boats in the Caribbean is merely the expression of a strategy in which the U.S. aims to assert its power as far as necessary to defend itself against the obsessions of Trumpism: drugs and migration — the only characteristics that, in the mind of the administration, all Latin American countries share.
The predatory nature of the language used by the White House stands out in a new world order in competition with Russia and China. Rather than political systems or democratic values, what matters are the raw economic interests of the multibillionaire elite, whether they’re Russian, Arab or American, who propelled Trump to power and supported his policies with their own interests in mind.
Everything is hyperbolic and extraordinary in Trumpism, including this strategy, which was presented as a “roadmap to ensure that America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history.” This document will help historians understand this moment in time. But its eloquence can also enlighten the citizens of European and Latin American democracies regarding the caliber of this threat, and the danger to leaders who don’t want to take notice.
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