> European outlets are absolutely terrified and pondering whether this is what will force the end of NATO.
Many people have secrets. I have employed a tactic where I am very public about my private life - in this way if someone leaks an embarrassing secret about me, most people in my social circle either already know it or don't care. If you're worried about your private life going public, do a preemptive strike and make it public yourself.
Most politicians are worried about their reputation. Trump isn't. He created a situation where his reputation is already garbage yet he remains the most influential person on Earth. Do you hate him? Draw a number and take a seat in the waiting line. This allows him to employ much riskier negotiation tactics than ever heard before, because he doesn't care about negative publicity.
Many Europeans are terrified that Trump might actually do something horrible, that he's a madman with a gun. And that's the point. This is literally the only way to force EU countries to up their military spendings, because until recently we were aware that no matter what happens, big daddy comes and rescues everyone, while Europeans can sit and complain about legality of actions that are morally dubious but strategically necessary.
As a European, I hate Trump as a person, but god damn I love him as a politician, because the end result is that other people finally believe "guys, it's for real, it's happening, we need to militarize". When Russia took Crimea in 2014 that should've been a warning sign for Europe that time of peace is over and we need to get our shit together. We didn't. Thank god that Ukraine managed to hold, because on the day of 2022 invasion the cards were stacked against it, and had Russia done a three-day operation as planned, which seemed likely, then the next move would've been to catch a NATO country with pants down, which was likely, and that would've spiraled into WW3.
Completely disjoint from what you think of Trump as a person and his domestic politics - we have to admit that EU armies are a joke and if we want peace in Europe we need to take the situation seriously and Trump being an asshole is a blessing in disguise because otherwise we'd let the situation stagnate further. EU does need some tough love and a reality check.
Many people have secrets. I have employed a tactic where I am very public about my private life - in this way if someone leaks an embarrassing secret about me, most people in my social circle either already know it or don't care. If you're worried about your private life going public, do a preemptive strike and make it public yourself.
Most politicians are worried about their reputation. Trump isn't. He created a situation where his reputation is already garbage yet he remains the most influential person on Earth. Do you hate him? Draw a number and take a seat in the waiting line. This allows him to employ much riskier negotiation tactics than ever heard before, because he doesn't care about negative publicity.
Many Europeans are terrified that Trump might actually do something horrible, that he's a madman with a gun. And that's the point. This is literally the only way to force EU countries to up their military spendings, because until recently we were aware that no matter what happens, big daddy comes and rescues everyone, while Europeans can sit and complain about legality of actions that are morally dubious but strategically necessary.
As a European, I hate Trump as a person, but god damn I love him as a politician, because the end result is that other people finally believe "guys, it's for real, it's happening, we need to militarize". When Russia took Crimea in 2014 that should've been a warning sign for Europe that time of peace is over and we need to get our shit together. We didn't. Thank god that Ukraine managed to hold, because on the day of 2022 invasion the cards were stacked against it, and had Russia done a three-day operation as planned, which seemed likely, then the next move would've been to catch a NATO country with pants down, which was likely, and that would've spiraled into WW3.
Completely disjoint from what you think of Trump as a person and his domestic politics - we have to admit that EU armies are a joke and if we want peace in Europe we need to take the situation seriously and Trump being an asshole is a blessing in disguise because otherwise we'd let the situation stagnate further. EU does need some tough love and a reality check.