Trump’s 'absurdly inflated ego' just declared war on Europe: British journalist

Europe's transatlantic alliance with the United States is history as President Donald Trump has unmistakably declared war on Europe, writes Ian Birrell in British media outlet The i Paper.

Russian president Vladimir Putin, Birrell writes, is succeeding in subverting democracy with the help of Trump.

"Putin’s assault on freedom — aided by his autocratic allies — could not be clearer," Birrell says. "It is now beyond doubt, however, that this ghastly regime is being assisted by the White House in its efforts to destroy Ukraine – and that the United States has declared war on Europe under its appalling President."

The recently released US National Security Strategy "sets this out in stark terms," he writes of the three-thousand-plus document that outlines a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy, focusing on domestic strength, economic nationalism and a "principled realism."

"It is a depressing document, which codifies the extremism, racism and venality of Donald Trump’s approach to Europe while claiming his culture wars as a strand of Washington’s security policy," Birrell writes.

This document, Birrell notes, "is the sequel to his Vice President’s disgraceful February speech at the Munich Security Conference, which downplayed Russia’s threat while lashing out at the supposed suppression of free speech and exclusion of far-right forces."

This new guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy, he writes, "means Europe has adversaries on both flanks seeking to corrode our societies and inflame malignant nationalism."

Trump's strategy is "hypocritical and offensive," he writes, talking "about wanting "Europe to remain European" and "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations," implying support for hard-right populist forces such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Germany and Reform UK in Britain."

"And while Russia is no longer designated a direct threat, the only entity in the world seen as threatening free speech is the European Union," he adds.

Putin is thrilled by Trump's "embracing hard-right nationalists and promoting 'strategic stability' with Russia," Birrell explains.

"It's time for Europe to step in, he writes, and "try to help America 'correct its current trajectory' — just as this dismal document declares its intention for us – amid that country’s sinister slide into corruption, immorality and democratic subversion," Birrell says.

"But more fundamentally, our leaders must stop stroking Trump’s absurdly inflated ego and seize the initiative to defend our continent," he adds.

Serhiy, a retired Ukranian engineer offers what Birrell says are "wise words" that need to be heeded.

"We have to brace ourselves and push through. We cannot rely on the US while Trump is in power. But the Europeans must understand what they’re dealing with because Russia is a big threat for them that Europe must start taking seriously," Serhiy says.

"Do they want Ukraine to collapse, then be left alone against the enemy who grew even stronger? Europe must wake up, seriously wake up," he says.