The Spire

Sean Rego ’26

Opinions Editor

In the aftermath of the horrific Second World War, in which millions of American, British, French and other allied forces fought to defeat the Third Reich and the Japanese Empire, these nations came together to stand against the equally dangerous threat of the Soviet Union, which strangled half of Europe under Communist rule. Together, Western Europe and North America formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which has blossomed into the most powerful intercontinental alliance on the planet. Although it is a completely mutual defensive organization, a tacit understanding in it has been that the United States would come to the protection of her European comrades if need be. 

As we speak, leaders from across Europe are meeting in Budapest to discuss the ramifications of a second Trump Administration, which has been received with both fear and jubilance across the Continent. In America, too, there are predictions across the news and on our campus that this is the end of NATO as we know it, and that the 47th President plans to toss our European allies to the Russian Bear. There is some merit to these fears, though simultaneously, I also believe they ultimately fall far from the truth for the future of relations between the United States and Europe. 

At heart, I do not think Donald Trump is the isolationist that both Republicans and Democrats make him out to be. Yes, I cannot pretend he doesn’t subscribe to less interventionist tendencies and that he himself promulgates the idea of “America First,” but from the record of his first administration and from his most recent remarks, the ideology Trump will use in his next administration seems to be far from cutting off America from the rest of the world. 

Throughout his term, Trump constantly involved himself in European affairs. From his urging for NATO members to spend 2% of their GDP on defense expenditure to his dislike of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and to his claim that Ukraine would’ve never been invaded had he been president in 2022, the president-elect has never been shy to share his opinions with Europe. 

For one, I am specifically thinking of the time when, in front of the United Nations in 2018, Trump warned Germany not to become dependent on Russian oil, lest they suffer the consequences. In a rather idiotic response, the German delegation laughed at Donald Trump’s remarks, which aged like milk considering the dire energy crisis in which Germany found itself after the Russian Invasion. We can look to other examples like the Trump Administration’s approval of sending lethal weaponry to Ukraine in 2017 (the first president to do so) to disabuse ourselves that the next commander-in-chief will abandon our allies. 

All this being said, we can expect Donald Trump to be ardent about a peaceful settlement of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which very well may involve concessions. After the election, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy briefly talked over a phone call, and allegedly discussed such an idea. Now, although this may be a sobering peace deal, it would, God willing, preserve the rest of the Ukrainian nation and terminate any plans of Russian troops marching into Kyiv. Interestingly, Trump has said that if Putin were to deny such a peace proposal (which isn’t exactly favourable for him either), then the United States would commit even more to Ukraine. Bluff or not, this maneuver is far from what we would call American isolationism. 

Additionally, I doubt that Trump will not encourage European partners to lift their share of the NATO budget– a strong Europe means a strong America and vice versa. It seems that leaders from across the continent have already caught on to this during his last term, with NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte saying “thanks to him, NATO, if you take out the numbers of the U.S., is above the 2% [of GDP Expenditure],” and  French President Emmanuel Macron saying “The question is whether we are willing to defend the European interest. It is the only question. It is our priority.” Reluctant or not, Europe very well may grow stronger with encouragement from her North American allies, which can only better the continent’s position against hostile powers.

Now, there is one massive downside that does give merit to the fears of Euro-American relations, that is of course Trump’s threats of a 10-20% universal trade tariff for foreign products. While not nearly as directed as it is to the People’s Republic of China, the Trump tariffs could spell hardship for European markets in the United States. If I were a European leader, I too would be anxious about such a move, as more often than not, American consumers make up a massive amount of the total economic base for the companies of any given European state. This certainly is an interventionist measure on part of Trump, though indeed for isolationist means; at the same time, one has to consider the specifically tailored economic relationships America will have with each individual country. For example, I’ve heard that the United Kingdom could be exempted from such a tariff policy provided some good negotiating on the British side. 

To call Donald Trump a total isolationist is not accurate, even when ignoring the massive security efforts he’s committed in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific and focusing on Europe. Indeed, as he has proven in his last term and probably will reaffirm in his next, Trump is no soft spoken figure with his European counterparts. Around them, he often is brash, loud and occasionally undiplomatic (aka rude), but it would be out of character for Donald Trump to belittle America’s role on the fabled continent, and quite actually, it has been his rough encouragement that has made him loved by many rising forces across Europe. 

In Italy, Hungary, France, Britain and beyond, populist leaders and politicians praise Trump for his blunt proposition to Europe: strengthen or risk peril. America has many global battles she must face, and simply cannot do it by herself– she needs strong and able allies. From what I gather, Trump’s “America First” does not mean “America Only,” but for Europe (at which the next president seems to be hinting), this is a continued reminder that NATO is a cooperation between determined, free nations that are serious enough to do their part to avoid the horrors of 20th Century and overcome the resurrected evils of totalitarianism in our present age. 

Featured image courtesy of The Independent