On March 6, during one of his impromptu news conferences in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump was asked whether he was considering any changes to U.S. policy on NATO, the U.S.-led transatlantic alliance that has kept the peace in Europe for more than 75 years. Trump’s answer was, in a word, Trumpian—if NATO members wanted America’s protection, they better start opening their wallets a little wider and spending more on defense themselves. “Well I’ve said that to them,” Trump said, referencing Washington’s European allies. “I said, ‘If you’re not gonna pay, we’re not gonna defend.'”
Trump has voiced similar sentiments in the past, providing no consolation to Europeans, who have felt overwhelming anxiousness after a turbulent two weeks. In that timeframe U.S. officials sat down with Russian diplomats for the first time in years, Trump had a rhetorical boxing match with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on TV, and the Trump administration paused U.S. military and intelligence support to Kyiv. The big question hovering over the entire continent like the darkest of storm clouds can no longer be avoided: is the U.S. still committed to Europe’s security?
Say what you want about Trump’s rantings and ravings. But what can’t be in doubt is their effectiveness. European politicians, ministers, and heads-of-state are so petrified about Washington potentially turning its back that hard discussions are now occurring about what the continent must do to take more ownership of its neighborhood. Faced with a U.S. president who could literally wake up one morning and decide that Europe no longer holds much value, the Europeans are in the early stages of enacting policies that would have been fantastical only a few months before.
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