<![CDATA[Donald Trump]]><![CDATA[Emmanuel Macron]]><![CDATA[Iran]]><![CDATA[Keir Starmer]]><![CDATA[NATO]]>Featured

Europeans Have an Opinion, to Which I Say…So What? – HotAir

The post-ceasefire lectures from our European “allies” (and Australia, too) have begun. 

They are pretending they have a say in the war’s outcome because, of course, they do. They are pretend powers with pretend moral superiority and pretend militaries. Now they are pretending they have a say in the war, because they have a stake in its outcome. 





It doesn’t work that way, welfare queens. “Stakeholders” is a phony concept. Only people who put skin in the game get to determine its outcome, not the people who watch from the sidelines, outside the fence, having a rooting interest but making no contributions. They are spectators watching from afar, yelling at the coach. 

The leaders of these countries have released a joint statement on the situation in Iran which includes a call to end the war. 

France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Romania, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Slovakia, Greece, Spain, Norway, Finland, Japan, along with the European Union. 

“We welcome the two-week ceasefire concluded between the United States and Iran today. 

We thank Pakistan and all partners involved for facilitating this important agreement.

The goal must now be to negotiate a swift and lasting end to the war within the coming days. This can only be achieved through diplomatic means.

We strongly encourage quick progress towards a substantive negotiated settlement. 

This will be crucial to protect the civilian population of Iran and ensure security in the region. It can avert a severe global energy crisis.

We support these diplomatic efforts. To this end, we are in close contact with the United States and other partners.

We call upon all sides to implement the ceasefire, including in Lebanon.

Our Governments will contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Signed By: 

Emmanuel Macron — France

Giorgia Meloni — Italy

Friedrich Merz — Germany

Keir Starmer — United Kingdom

Mark Carney — Canada

Nicusor Dan — Romania

Mette Frederiksen — Denmark

Bjarni Benediktsson Frostadóttir — Iceland

Rob Jetten — Netherlands

Ulf Kristersson — Sweden

Michal Šimečka — Slovakia

Kyriakos Mitsotakis — Greece

Pedro Sánchez — Spain

Jonas Gahr Støre — Norway

Alexander Stubb — Finland

Sanae Takaichi — Japan

Ursula von der Leyen — European Commission (EU)

Antonio Costa — European Council (EU)





I look at that list, and I see a bunch of whiners and losers, with the exception of Sanae Takaichi, who should have known better than to sign this statement. But she is new on the world stage, and probably thought it was benign enough. 

Keir Starmer is pretending to be a world leader with influence, not the man who was humiliated on the world stage, unable to put a warship into the English Channel as Russia escorts its rusty tankers through it, in defiance of Starmer’s warnings. 

And then there is Anthony Albanese, sternly lecturing about his interpretation of a ceasefire he and Australia had nothing to do with. 

Why, exactly, should we care what any of these people think? They turned their backs on us, insulted us, lectured us, and now demand a seat at the table as a matter of right, because…well, just because. 





These countries seem to believe they have leverage over the United States, because unless we give in to their demands, they may run away from home or something. 

The thing is, Donald Trump just doesn’t care, or at least the way he cares is a lot different from what they think. He views the world transactionally. He is fine with being disliked, as long as we get what we pay for, and currently we are not. 

CNN’s Jake Tapper: “The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the president is weighing punishing some NATO allies for not being helpful to the U.S. and Israel during the war.” 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte: “Yes, it’s true, not all European nations lived up to those commitments, and I totally understand that he is disappointed about it.”





There is a massive disconnect between the power Europeans have and what they believe they have, fed by decades of benign neglect and coddling by American presidents. They believe that the relationship between the United States and NATO is reciprocal, despite all evidence to the contrary. 

BREAKING: Trump has set a deadline of within days for European allies to commit concrete military support in the Strait of Hormuz, including warships, Der Spiegel reports.

NATO Secretary General Rutte informed European capitals after his White House meeting that political pledges made since the start of the war are no longer sufficient. Multiple European diplomats described the demand as an ultimatum.

It’s not that the United States gets no benefit from our alliance with European countries. We do. It’s just that the benefits are currently far outweighed by the costs. Europeans keep saying that they need to be prepared for war with Russia, to the extent that they are talking about going on a war footing. 

But they simultaneously beat up on and lecture us, their guarantor of security, and treat us as almost an enemy. They tell us what we can do, regulate our industries to death, meddle in our internal politics, and do their best to silence Americans. And, in some ways worse, they are committing civilizational suicide. 





Trump has been giving Europe good advice for a decade, and in return, they have scoffed, complained, laughed, and in the process destroyed themselves. The continent is in obvious economic, political, and civilizational decline. As American media points at Trump’s polls and declares him rejected by the American populace, they conveniently ignore that Europe’s leaders are utterly despised by their citizenry. 

Macron is at 17%. Merz at 20%. Starmer at 24%. 

Their popularity is with the Brussels and Davos crowds, who are quite clearly enemies of the United States and ordinary Europeans. 

Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, seems to be one of the few Europeans who is focused on European security rather than European egos. He understands that the relationship is asymmetrical, and that even when Trump goes off script he is benefiting the entire Western alliance. 

 BREAKING: NATO SecGen Mark Rutte STUNS THE WORLD, comes out in SUPPORT of President Trump flaming our allies for abandoning the US during Operation Epic Fury

This comes after Rutte met 47 at the White House

RUTTE: “Some of them [failed]!” 🔥

“[Iran] would lead to a North Korea moment, where if you take so long, it’s beyond the point you can get it done if they get a nuke…that is a BIG risk for Europe!”

HE KNOWS, NATO needs America, and they MESSED UP.

Rutte is desperately trying to keep NATO together. It’s up to Trump now whether they get PUNISHED.





Unfortunately, I have little faith that these ego-driven leaders will focus on what is good for their countries. Macron has his eye on that 17% approval rating, and Starmer his 24%, and are making self-soothing noises rather than looking out for the best interests of their countries. 

That shouldn’t surprise us. After all, these men seem fine with sacrificing their own citizens to the whims of “South Asian” migrants who fill their leisure time with raping young girls. 

I still have a soft spot in my heart for the old NATO, however imperfect it was. The United States had a strong interest in defeating the Soviet Union, and enduring the haughty European lectures was just a price we had to pay to achieve our goals. 

But now? It’s not so clear. In fact, it’s pretty clear that a divorce is in the cards. 


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