Trump launches new round of attacks on Europe

By Hossein Ziaee*

Following a three-month-long truce in the trade war between the world powers on the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean (declared after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and US president struck an unexpected deal and averted an all-out trade war following a meeting at the White House), Donald Trump launched a new round of attacks on Europe in a recent interview with CBS, American English language commercial broadcast television.

Apparently, Trump is, in no way, willing to leave this trade war incomplete and abandon the behind-the-scene goals – to dissolve the EU – he pursues by waging it.

In his recent interview, he repeatedly described European treatment of the US as ‘hostile’ and said nobody in the world mistreats the US worse than Europeans do. 

Trump’s remarks, more than anything else, are indicative of his strong resolve to end US strategic partnership with Europe.

In fact, he seeks to, by widening the political gap between the US and Europe, have more freedom in pursuing his protectionist policies on international level without fulfilling Washington’s international commitments stemming from the US alliance with Europe following World War II (1945).

In other words, Trump’s insistence on its unilateralism in international arena and efforts to stay away from Europe, indicate that he is following much more dangerous objectives, which is a matter of serious concern for Europe. 

A poll conducted by one of Germany’s largest insurance institutions, known as R+V, showed that more than 70 percent of the Germans maintain that Trump and his foreign policy, particularly toward Europe, is the biggest threat to them.

In his interviews with German Media, the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, always maintains that the only way Europeans would be able to counter Trump’s intimidating manner and policies is through maintaining their integrity and unity and mounting all-out resistance against him.

Maas explicitly announced that, in the trade war with the US, Europe should not give in to Trump’s threats, stressing that “we should remind Trump” that he cannot lead the EU toward dissolution and disintegration.

In fact, this latest remark by Maas implicitly discloses the main goal pursued by Trump’s continued war against Europe: The dissolution of the EU.

Since coming to power as US President, Trump has adopted organized aggressive and hostile approaches toward Europe relying on a policy based on fueling the trade war against and promoting racism in the continent to prepare the grounds for the dissolution of the union at any cost.

Europeans have, however, strongly resisted such policies by staging demonstrations and maintaining their unity and integrity. In case they continue their resistance, the White House will have to retreat and stop such efforts.

*Hossein Ziaee is a freelance journalist.