Two days ago, The Atlantic had some bad news: Trump spent all year pissing off our European allies, demeaning them and telling them they need to pull their own weight, and now that he needs them, they are getting their revenge and turning their backs on the U.S. amid Trump’s calls for help opening the Strait of Hormuz, much to the delight of the liberal media.
“Donald Trump does not think strategically. Nor does he think historically, geographically, or even rationally,” wrote Anne Applebaum. “He does not connect actions he takes on one day to events that occur weeks later. He does not think about how his behavior in one place will change the behavior of other people in other places.”
For the past 14 months, writes Applebaum, President Trump utterly alienated our European allies. He put tariffs on allies. He threatened NATO. He curtailed aid to Ukraine. The result, writes Applebaum, is clear:
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has declared that Canada will not participate in the “offensive operations of Israel and the U.S., and it never will.” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius says, “This is not our war, and we didn’t start it.” The Spanish prime minister refused to let the United States use bases for the beginning of the war. The U.K. and France might send some ships to protect their own bases or allies in the Gulf, but neither will send their soldiers or sailors into offensive operations started without their assent.
What a difference a couple of days make!
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