Transatlantic tension

Trump has trumped himself and the US in that country’s relations with Europe. His Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio deepened US estrangement with Europe during last week’s security conference in Munich by criticising European policies on free trade, mass migration, and green energy. Rubio spoke of a climate change “cult” which he said was harming the US economy and castigated the United Nations for failing to resolve the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. He attempted to temper his criticisms, however, by declaring, “Our destiny will always be intertwined with yours ...we will always be a child of Europe.”

Meant to reassure Europe, Rubio’s words appear to have fallen on deaf ears. A YouGove survey revealed that “11-31 per cent of Europeans consider the US to be a major threat to Europe” while this rises to 34-61 per cent if those who are included see the US as a moderate threat. These “figures [are] broadly comparable to – and in some cases higher than – the perceived threat from China, Iran or North Korea, although still far behind Russia,” the poll reported.

Trump has primarily undermined European trust over the decades-old US commitment to NATO. This was initially called into question by his demand that the US must take control of Greenland, a territory associated with Denmark, a European Union and NATO member. Unless a deal was reached for the US to buy or otherwise acquire Greenland, Trump threated to impose 10 per cent tariffs, rising to 25 per cent by June 1, on goods imported from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland. Europe prepared a “trade bazooka” of economic measures to counter his economic pressure tactic. These measures could ultimately block US access to the European trading bloc.

Trump has said Europe is taking unfair economic and political advantage of the US while relying on the US for NATO protection against Russia and China. Article 5 of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty commits bloc countries to provide “aid and assistance by all the means in their power” if another member is attacked. It is highly significant that the first and only time this article was invoked was on Sept.11, 2001, in response to the attacks by al-Qaeda on New York and Washington. European countries promptly expressed solidarity with the US and several – including Britain, France, Italy and Germany – dispatched troops to join the US-led coalition battling al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. More than 1,000 allied troops were killed in the two-decade long campaign. Nearly half were British. Last month, Trump outraged contributing countries and their soldiers who served in Afghanistan when he claimed only US troops were in at the front while NATO sent “some troops” but “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.” He was obliged to apologise by praising British troops, but Italy, Denmark, and other contributing countries got short shrift. The fact that Trump cooked up a medical claim to “heel spurs” to avoid US army service in Vietnam has not been forgotten.

Trump has also trumped himself on the domestic scene. In Washington, he has torn down the East Wing of the 230-old presidential mansion, the White House, and begun construction of a ballroom which will accommodate more than 200 guests. He has promoted a plan to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US by building a triumphal arch (dubbed the “Arc de Trump”) which will dwarf Paris’ Arc de Triumph. He has also added Trump to the name of the John F. Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts. After a storm of protests, he closed it for two years allegedly for renovation.

On the national level, to combat illegal immigration, he has boosted border security and adopted harsh – even deadly – means to round up and deport migrants. He has turned this campaign into a partisan political issue by deploying national guard troops to Democrat-run cities. His 10 per cent tariffs on imports has not encouraged US overseas manufactures to relocate to the US but have raised prices to US consumers. He has reversed environmental protection regulations to encourage polluting domestic oil, gas, and coal production and consumption. After cutting federal government staff at the expense of efficiency, workers have been rehired. Federal force agents have exceeded legal limits when dealing with public safety.

Pew Research reports Trump’s approval ratings are falling. In a poll conducted among Republicans (members of his party) at the end of last month, his rating stood at 37 per cent, 50 per cent said his administration’ actions have been worse than expected and only 27 per cent said they “support all or most of Trump’s policies and plans.” Although increasing numbers of Republicans have distanced themselves from Trump and his policies. the opposition Democrat party has failed to formulate a strategy to meet the Trump challenge. Lauren Gambino reported in “The Guardian” that “historians, scholars and experts say his presidency has pushed American democracy to the brink – or beyond it” by employing the levers of authority to consolidate his grip on power and ensuring that the ruling party rules and will continue to rule.

Photo: TNS