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Even Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK and a Trump loyalist, called the idea of the US imposing tariffs if Europe did not accept the handover of Greenland "a hostile act"...
Donald Trump's attempt to take control of Greenland has created a deep rift between the former US president and some of his closest ideological allies in Europe.
Where unconditional enthusiasm for the "Trump agenda" once dominated, the fundamental principles of the far right now clash: above all, national sovereignty.
Another escalation came when Trump criticized NATO allies, saying their troops “stayed away from the front lines” during the war in Afghanistan. The statement has inflamed nationalist sentiments on the European right and sparked a wave of open criticism.
Last week, Trump partially backed down from his rhetoric on Greenland, promising not to take the island by force and not to impose tariffs on countries that object. However, the political damage had been done. For many far-right populists, who lead or support governments in a third of EU countries, Trump is increasingly seen as an obstacle to their nationalist, anti-EU cause.
This division risks undermining his administration's own national security strategy, which aimed to "cultivate resistance" to Europe's current course, through cooperation with "patriotic" allies to avoid the "disappearance of Western civilization."
Just a year ago, far-right leaders in Europe enthusiastically welcomed Trump's return to the White House. A few months later, they gathered in Madrid under the slogan "Make Europe Great Again," praising his "America First" agenda.
But now there is a twist. Polls show that Trump is extremely unpopular in Europe. Even among far-right voters, many see him as a threat to the EU and support strengthening the bloc.
A survey by the platform “Le Grand Continent” shows that 18–25% of far-right voters in France, Germany, Italy and Spain consider Trump an “enemy of Europe.” While 30–49% of them say that, if tensions with the US over Greenland increase, they would support sending European troops to defend the territory.
Trump has also been widely criticized for using economic force as a tool of pressure. Leaders from France, Germany and Italy have reacted sharply, some sounding like the mainstream politicians they usually despise.
In a debate in the European Parliament last week, right-wing, usually pro-Trump MEPs supported freezing the ratification of the EU-US trade deal, calling Trump's approach a "threat to sovereignty".
Jordan Bardella, head of Marine Le Pen's RN, called the statement on Greenland "a direct challenge to the sovereignty of a European country" and stressed that when a US president uses trade pressure to take a territory, "it is not dialogue, but coercion."
Alice Weidel, leader of the AfD in Germany, stated that Trump had violated a fundamental electoral promise, not to interfere in the affairs of other countries.
Even Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK and a Trump loyalist, called the idea of the US imposing tariffs if Europe did not accept the handover of Greenland "a hostile act," and this, without even seeking the consent of the people of Greenland.
Some leaders in power were more reserved. Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister who has been a “close channel” with Trump, criticized the idea of sending European troops to Greenland but admitted that she had told the US president that threats to Greenland were a mistake.
Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary and Trump's most ardent supporter in Europe, avoided any direct comment, saying: "It's an internal matter... a NATO matter."
Poland's nationalist president, Karol Nawrocki, called for the issue to be resolved "diplomatically" between Washington and Copenhagen, without involving a wider European debate. He called the US a "very important ally" and called on Western leaders to "calm down."
Even in the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš warned against a transatlantic clash.
However, the strongest criticism of Trump in Europe came after his statement on NATO troops in Afghanistan, which was described by Meloni as unacceptable. / Adapted from "The Guardian"
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