Having already experienced what life is like under a Donald Trump US presidency, the Europeans presently seem rather blasé about what a potential second Trump administration could entail for the European Union and NATO. For all his (very real) sins, Trump gave voice to the long-standing tensions at the heart of the transatlantic relationship. Will Europe spend more on its defense? Are Europeans willing to do more to defend themselves? Are Europeans ready to embrace Sino-American rivalry as the ordering principle of international politics? Europeans have only partially responded to some of these questions: The hard truth is that the hard truths hurt.
By
Daniel Fiott 