Trump’s month back in the White House has been marked by soaring friction between Washington and its European allies, with the United States abruptly shifting gears on support for Ukraine and Germany’s likely next leader urging Europe to seek take greater control of its own defense.
“That’s the purpose of it, and they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president,“ Trump said.
Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt, writing on X, said Trump had a “seriously distorted view of history” as the EU was “actually set up to prevent war on the European continent.”
Trump by contrast applauded Britain when it left the single European market, and has vowed an “America First” policy of pursuing self-interest above any abstract concepts of partnership.
The United States had a trade deficit to the 27-nation bloc of $235.6 billion last year, according to official US figures.
He said that cars would be among the products to be hit -- grim news for Germany whose export-driven economy has been in a slump.
Trump has also slapped tariffs on US neighbors Canada and Mexico as well as rival China, citing issues including illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling.
Trump, who has made the deportation of undocumented immigrants a top priority, acknowledged his origins in Europe, saying wryly: “I guess I’m from there at some point a long time ago, right?”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas was visiting Washington on Wednesday and had earlier announced that she would meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
On Monday, the United States sided with Russia and against nearly all European allies at the United Nations in backing a resolution that called for a swift end to the war without insisting on Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The winner of Germany’s election on Sunday, Friedrich Merz, is a longstanding supporter of the transatlantic alliance but has warned not to be under illusions about Trump.
Rubio, in an interview broadcast Wednesday with Fox News, said that the NATO alliance was “not in jeopardy” but that Europe needed to spend more on its own defense.
“We’re not saying do your own thing. We’re saying do more. It’s their continent, right?” he said.
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