The writer is director of the Italy’s Istituto Affari Internazionali and a former special adviser to two EU High Representatives for Foreign Affairs
Donald Trump’s foreign policy record has not been very effective in most places. He promised to end wars overnight but the Russia-Ukraine conflict rages on. In the Middle East, he has either stood on the sidelines (in Gaza, Lebanon, and now Syria) or participated (in Iran) before seeking — and only sometimes managing to broker — ceasefires. But when it comes to Europe, the US president is winning. Trump wants to divide and weaken the continent. And he’s succeeding — largely thanks to his supporters inside the gates rather than outside pressure.
Europe’s far-right nationalist forces are on the rise and they are pushing Trump’s agenda. There are a growing number of European countries with the far-right either in government or as the strongest opposition party, weaving nationalist, protectionist and Eurosceptic ideas into the mainstream agenda. It is this “threat from within” — the opposite of the so-called threat that US Vice President JD Vance denounced in Munich — which explains Trump’s foreign policy wins in Europe.