By Ephraim Agbo
In a White House interview published on December 9, 2025, President Donald Trump offered a sweeping verdict on America's oldest allies: "Most European nations, uh, they’re ... they’re decaying. They’re decaying." This blunt pronouncement to Politico was more than just a stray provocation. It was the raw, public articulation of a worldview that has been formally codified in his administration's new National Security Strategy (NSS), a document that analysts warn represents a "seismic shift" in transatlantic relations.
This shift moves beyond diplomatic friction into a deliberate campaign to redefine—and potentially rupture—the post-war Atlantic alliance. The strategy is not one of neglect, but of active division, seeking to reshape European politics from within by empowering nationalist forces and questioning the very vitality of the continent it once swore to defend.
From "Tough Love" to Strategic Hostility
Trump’s diagnosis of European "decay" is explicitly linked to two forces:
- uncontrolled immigration, which he claims is "destroying" their countries
- a suffocating "political correctness" that makes leaders "weak"
This framing reduces complex societal challenges to a simple narrative of civilizational decline, a theme echoed in the NSS's warning of Europe's "civilizational erasure".
The prescription for this alleged decay is equally revealing. During the interview, Trump praised the illiberal governance of Hungary's Viktor Orbán and Poland's strict border policies as models to follow. This creates a deliberate fissure within the European Union itself, championing nationalist, anti-immigration governments over the consensus-driven ethos of Brussels.
The NSS goes further, formally pledging to "cultivate resistance" within the bloc to "correct its current trajectory". European Council President António Costa condemned this as an unacceptable threat to interfere in European politics, stating, "Allies do not threaten to interfere in the domestic political choices of their allies."
Undermining Unity, Empowering Moscow
The interview's implications for European security were stark, particularly regarding Ukraine. Trump asserted that "Russia has the upper hand" in the war, questioned continued U.S. support, and suggested Ukraine hold elections mid-conflict—a move critics say would legitimize Russian territorial gains.
This aligns with a central and alarming feature of the new U.S. strategy: its soft-pedaling of the Russian threat. Analysts note the NSS does not name Russia as a possible threat to U.S. interests. Instead, the document was publicly welcomed by the Kremlin, which said it "corresponds in many ways to our vision."
For nations on NATO's eastern flank, this is a chilling development. As one analysis notes, the strategy leaves allies closest to Russia's war "wondering how to navigate Washington’s briskly softening stance toward Moscow."
A Calculated Division, Not a Drift
The reaction from European capitals has moved from concern to confrontation. Leaders are no longer dismissing the rhetoric as unpredictable bluster but recognizing it as official doctrine.
· A Line in the Sand: European Council President Costa explicitly warned the U.S. against interference.
· Rejecting the Premise: Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin dismissed the label of weakness.
· A Wake-Up Call: Commentators have labeled the NSS a "grenade" and "the mother of all wake-up calls for Europe."
Experts now see a coherent and dangerous strategy. Nicolai von Ondarza says the document confirms "a fundamental shift," where "open US backing for regime change in Europe" is now policy. Max Bergmann agrees, noting that backing far-right nationalists is now a core part of America’s national strategy.
The End of the Post-War Order?
The "decaying" label is a potent political narrative with a clear strategic function:
- It Reframes the Alliance: Shifts partnership from shared values to transactional alignment with Trump’s priorities.
- It Weaponizes Division: Praising Orbán while attacking the EU deepens internal fractures.
- It Targets the Foundation: It mirrors populist narratives, aiming to dismantle the liberal international order.
The lasting impact will not be measured in diplomatic protests but in the erosion of shared strategic assumptions. When the president of the United States questions the vitality of its core allies, downplays a shared adversary, and openly sanctions interference in their democracies, it represents more than a rift. It is a deliberate unraveling.
The decay Trump describes is, in the view of his critics, less evident in European cities than in the crumbling foundations of the alliance itself. The question for Europe is no longer how to manage an erratic ally, but how to secure its future when its most powerful partner has become a purposeful divider.
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