WHY DID THE US PRESIDENT INFLAME TENSIONS BETWEEN U.S. & EUROPE?

…Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor  Angela Merkel and President Trump @ G7 Conference in Brussels

 

We now have a new acknowledged leader of the Free World.

 

Well, one thing that was solidified in Trump’s first trip abroad.  That item was that as of that trip, Angela Merkel has now assumed the position as the new “Leader of the Free World”.  Because of our fearless leader, we have relinquished the role as the leader of the free world to the German Chancellor.

 

And based on that first trip abroad, the German Chancellor has declared a new chapter in US-European relations.  After her contentious meetings with President Trump last week, she has now stated that Europe, “really must take our fate into our own hands.” 

 

It was amazing how President Trump seemed to go out of his way to inflamed tensions between the US and the NATO nations.  Instead of confirming that the US would honor Article 5 of the NATO agreement where it was established that it was, “1 for all and all for 1”, in cases of dealing with a communist regimes of Russia or China.  Rather than healing any verbal wounds, the US president doubled-down in sparring with the leaders of Washington’s closest and oldest world allies on trade, defense and climate change.

 

Merkel is now Europe's or the EU’s de facto leader, and she told a packed beer hall rally in Munich that the days when her continent could rely on others was “over, to a certain extent. This is what I have experienced in the last few days.”  These comments came of course, just as Europe is watching Britain preparing to leave the European Union.  Now the EU is facing pure antagonism from Washington via our own President Trump.

This was a stark declaration from the usually very cautious head of Europe’s most powerful economy.  And it was a grim position of the transatlantic ties that have bound the  West’s security over the many generations since World War II.  Yes, the relations between Washington and Europe have been strained occasionally since 1945.  But never have there been such strong feelings from the leaders of Europe where they felt they must turn away from Washington and consider preparing to face the world alone.  This never had ccurred until President Trump appeared on the scene.

 

This feeling of being on their own was obviously agreed to as the German Chancellor received a minute-long standing ovation for her comments.  These came as she was seeking to whip up her voter support ahead of Germany’s coming September elections.

 

Even though Merkel’s message was aimed at her own electorate, it was also a measure of how badly relations have deteriorated with Trump’s United States that is hitting Washington.

 

Her remarks were a basic repudiation of Trump’s troubled few days with the European leaders.  But Merkel held back from mentioning the American president by name.  That’s even though Trump had harsh words for German trade behind closed doors during the meetings. He also blasted European leaders at NATO for failing to spend enough on defense, while holding back from offering the traditional NATO unconditional guarantee for European security.  (In fact, Trump personally removed the traditional re-affirmation statement of Article 5 of the NATO agreement in his scolding speech at NATO headquarters.)

But as usual, Trump didn’t just stop there.  Trump also refused to endorse the Paris Agreement on combating climate change.  But he stated that he was learning more about the situation and he punted that decision until later this week.

 

Merkel’s statements were similar to what she has said before Trump’s inauguration. But this time they carried extra weight now that Trump is actually in office.  Trump had those days to reset their relationship. But instead, he strained them much, much more.

 

“The belief in shared values has been shattered by the Trump administration,” said Stephan Bierling, an expert on transatlantic relations at Germany’s University of Regensburg. “After the inauguration, everyone in Europe was hopeful that Trump would become more moderate and take into account the positions of the G-7 and of NATO. But the opposite has happened. It’s as if he is still trying to win an election campaign.”

 

But our less-than-aware president Trump had a much different take.  “Just returned from Europe. Trip was a great success for America. Hard work, but big results!” Trump tweeted on Sunday, reviving a prolific Twitter habit that had slackened a bit during his days abroad.

 

Here’s the situation since the president returned from the trip abroad:

 

The consequences of the rift between Trump and the EU remain uncertain. The United States remains the largest economy in the world, and its military is indispensable for European security, putting a clear limit on Europe’s ability to declare total independence.

 

American consumers also form an important market for European products, including the German BMWs that Trump complained about in his closed-door meetings in Brussels.  But Europe is not united in its approach to Trump.  The strong-arm Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has cracked down on critics at home, has embraced the new US leader. British Prime Minister Theresa May has also tried to maintain her ties, but that’s in part because she needs strong partners as she leads her country out of the European Union (EU). 

 

As Merkel positions herself ahead of her re-election attempt, the message could be the signal of a shift away from the United States.  (Perhaps even one that could outlast Trump’s time in office.)  That would weaken US global power over the long term. European leaders are developing plans to deepen military cooperation, totally independent of the United States. They are also reaching out to economic partners in Asia that Trump has so far spurned. All of those shifts will have consequences that extend for years or decades.

 

Mr. Cliff Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group, said Trump’s performance in Europe left wounds that would come back to haunt the United States for many years. “Trump is creating the biggest transatlantic rift since the Iraq war, perhaps even since WWII,” he said. “This leaves the US exposed. If the Iran nuclear accord flounders, for example, Europe may well not end up on Trump’s side of a dangerous crisis.”

 

The conservative Trump critic William “Bill” Kristol, who edits The Weekly Standard magazine, wrote on Twitter: “Merkel's comments today are a reminder that Trump’s failures are, while he’s president, also America’s failure, and they seriously damage America.” 

The landslide election in France of President Emmanuel Macron this month has revived hopes for Franco-German cooperation on efforts to bolster European defense initiatives. European leaders want to coordinate their military purchasing and do more to have standing military capabilities that are deployable outside NATO command structures, where the United States is always the dominant force. 

 

Germany has hiked its military spending by $2.2 billion this year, to $41 billion, though it remains far from being able to stand on its own militarily.

 

But Merkel and Macron have vowed to work together to further the pro-globalization agenda that Trump currently stands against.  Merkel’s comments were not the only sign of a Europe determined to hit back at the president. Macron also acknowledged that he had come prepared for his handshake with Trump, who likes to throw all the others off balance with his firm yank of the arm. Macron appeared to force Trump to keep shaking hands even after the American leader tried to disengage.

 

“We must show that we will not make small concessions, even symbolic ones,” Macron told France’s Journal du Dimanche in recent remarks. He called it “a moment of truth.”

 

It will be years, possibly decades, before we can heal the wounds that the Trump presidency has and may still produce.

 

May God help the United States of America in these times of stress and indecision.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2017