Europeans agree with Trump: Their governments are losers

Field Report from Europe: Europeans know they have a problem. 

Donald Trump is a bully, sure, but he's not all bad. 

Guest Post author Thad Guyer offers a report that may surprise consumers of America's mainstream media. Europeans understand their governments have been incompetent. Trump isn't wrong when he insults them, and they don't hate him for it. 

Guyer was a legal services attorney for 30 years before transitioning into doing complex litigation defense of employee whistleblowers. That work took him to Europe, where he talks with politically engaged citizens. Immediately after Trump was first elected in 2016, Guyer was surprised to learn that people he spoke with were not as appalled by Trump as were American liberals. In a guest post dated November 15, 2016 he wrote:

I am lawyering in Geneva, Switzerland now, and was in Paris last week. I was ready for it again, the “what’s wrong with America” questions, this time about Trump rather than Bush. But I’m not getting it not now. 

Since 9/11, Europe has been repeatedly traumatized by radical Islamic terror, its borders overrun by millions of “irregular immigrants”, the loss of national identities and currencies as the EU and euro dissolved borders and sovereignty.

Donald Trump himself is not popular here, but “Trumpism” is. It inspires considerable awe and the spirit of self-determination. Trumpism is the story of American democratic grit, American power, the proof that Americans can innovate from moon shots to the internet to populist revolution. Europe remains steeped, and some here say trapped, in cultural and political tradition, but “those Americans” can just rise up one fine morning, say enough is enough, and cast off the political malaise and established political order.

Europeans have watched Trump for a decade. They have had lots of opportunities to be appalled, disgusted, and angry at Trump. He has been a bull in a European china shop. Guyer says that Europeans aren't as unhappy about Trump as Democrats in America may expect them to be.

Guyer

Guest Post by Thad Guyer 

A Report from Europe: What My Conversations Reveal About Trump, the U.S., and European Self-Loathing

I recently concluded a one-week trip through Europe, stopping in Belgrade, Paris, Marseille, Vienna, and Italy. I made a point of asking people I met—both friends and new acquaintances—simple questions about how they and their countrymen truly perceive Donald Trump and the United States.

What I heard was a fascinating mix of resentment, practical calculation, and a deep-seated sense of continental inadequacy.

Here are the key takeaways from those conversations: 

1. The U.S./Europe Friendship Will Survive

While many agree that Trump is a bully and is currently abusing an important friendship forged since the First World War, no one I spoke with is worried about the friendship actually ending. They view Trump as simply a politician who does not have the power to destroy the deep connection between the cultures and economies. This core relationship, they believe, will survive any political leader. 

2. Contempt for Their Own Leaders Runs Deep

There is an almost universal disdain for their own leaders, held in equal measure to their dislike of Trump. In fact, many agreed with Trump’s criticisms and verbal attacks on European politicians.

• French President Macron is viewed as weak and feckless.
• The leaders of Austria and Italy, in contrast, are seen as having learned to keep their mouths shut and avoid fighting Trump.
• The common view is that the European Union is always in disarray and will always be pushed around by the USA. Fighting Trump on tariffs is necessary, but fighting him on anything else is seen as stupid, given that he has all the power. The EU has no military, and Trump controls NATO.

3. The Iranian Conflict is the U.S.’s Problem

Europeans have nothing to say about the ongoing Iranian war. They hope the U.S. wins because Iran is viewed as sponsoring vicious and brutal attacks on European populations. The sentiment is that radical Islam is murderous and they would feel much safer if it could be wiped out. 

4. Oil Prices Are a Non-Issue 

Nobody in Europe gives a care about oil prices. If gas gets too high, they simply leave the car at home, thanks to incredible public transport infrastructure. European gas prices are always high, and they never expect the ridiculous $3 a gallon seen in the U.S. Americans, with their "big cars and trucks," are viewed as getting what they deserve for owning such gas guzzlers. 

5. Immigration Policy: The German Lesson and the Future

U.S. attempts to interfere with European immigration politics are seen as irritating, destructive, and destabilizing. While French and Austrian cities are filled with Muslim immigrants, the preference is to avoid upsetting these situations (the original email described these as "wasp nests").

There is a strong favor for strategies like quiet deportation, quiet arrest, weeding out the bad apples, and deterring illegal entry. The former German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is held in strong negative regard for "welcoming" a bunch of enclave immigrants who, it is believed, have zero interest in assimilating and only want to re-create their own countries within European borders. Enforcing rules against religious garb in schools and public places is considered crucially important. The long-term hope is that a couple of generations from now, everything will be okay — if they just keep the new ones out. 

The End Result: Collective Shame and Self-Loathing

My overall impression is that Trump and the U.S. political/economic dominance have fostered a kind of self-loathing in Europe.

The U.S. is seen as racing ahead in everything from military domination, unrestricted AI empowerment, and SpaceX, to moon missions, unrestrained oligarchy, and blessedly low taxes. They see America's leader, even if viewed as an "asshole," as powerful and selfishly caring only about his own people.

Meanwhile, Europe remains "old Europe" — a balkanized world where one can be arrested for a Facebook post labeled as hate speech, and with no strong leaders. The overwhelming sense is one of collective shame in being so weak and having so little to say about anything on the global stage.

 [Note: To get daily delivery of this blog by email go to https://petersage.substack.com. Subscribe. The blog is free and always will be.]