If the EU is Trump’s Foe, the EU should address Trumpism within Europe. Egmont Commentary, 17 July 2018

Much is being made of the recent claim of the President of the United States that the European Union is “a foe”. The great paradox is that this statement is at the same time extravagant and nonetheless contains a kernel of truth. As Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans swiftly pointed out, Europeans and Americans are best friends who do not give up on one another. Yet it is also difficult to dispute that the EU stands for a different conception of international relations than the one Trump himself believes in – most notably that might does not make right. Yet should the EU allow itself to be drawn into another rhetorical brawl about the state of transatlantic relations? Perhaps it would be far better to focus political energy on addressing the grievances of these who feel politically alienated within Europe, lest Trump-inspired revolutionary spirits destroy the Union from within