Pars Today- Perhaps the US and Europe have rarely been engaged in so tense rhetorical clashes as in the recent weeks.
On the one hand, the American President-elect, Donald Trump, is coveting to seize the country of Canada and the Danish Island of Greenland. On the other hand, Elon Musk, as a very near figure to him, is trying to undermine the German and British governments. According to Pars Today, Musk has gone to the extent to hold an opinion poll on X social network- if the Britons want the US to save them from their oppressive rule or not- with a reference to the British labor government.
However, European leaders- from Germany to Britain and France- have strongly condemned Elon Musk’s interventions in their internal affairs and his attempt to affect the results of elections in these countries. Some political analysts also speak of the US’ effort to bring Europe under fascism. This is while, the Danish have also seriously rejected Trump’s request to buy Greenland.
Taking the rhetorical quarrel between the two sides of the Atlantic into consideration, it appears that the US and Europe are going towards a turbulent era. The political victorious current of the 2024 presidential election in the US, which is called as MAGA (Make America Great Again), is hell-bent on toppling leftist and even moderate rightist governments among its allies in a bid to bring conservatives and far-rights to power. The MAGA movement is not intent to only change governments of the US allies, but it rather wants to give power to those who deem securing the US interests more valuable than their own.
Donald Trump has explicitly threatened Europeans that if they do not buy more oil and gas from the US, heavier tariffs would be imposed on the European imports to the US. These tariffs can severely harm the European producers, while the continent has already been plagued with the economic pressures resulting from COVID-19 quarantine and the energy price soaring after the Ukrainian war.
Trump and his advocates hope that Europeans will accept and capitulate to the tough American conditions. But, as long as leftist and moderate rightist governments are ruling in Europe, it will be hard to materialize this objective. That’s why, the world’s richest man and owner of the powerful social network “X” has stepped in the scene to forge propaganda ballyhoo against these governments to replace them by more friendly ones. This approach has so far worked with Canada as its Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau has resigned. Elon Musk is trying to apply the same stratagem in Germany and Britain- the two countries whose capitulation to Trump will be followed by a domino of other smaller and weaker European countries to be stooges for him.
Nevertheless, it looks unlikely that the European citizens will surrender to Donald Trump’s expansionist policies and Elon Musk’s ideological intervention even if their governments are overthrown. Therefore, it can be predicted that resistance groups will be shaped in Europe which will leave detrimental effect on the old and very close friendship between the two sides of the Atlantic. Yet, MAGA considers the US is economically and politically powerful enough to force the Europeans to accept its conditions. Once this does not happen, the US military power can be considered as a layer of pressure on Europe.
In such circumstances, Europe- which used to think Russia as the main threat-will find itself defenseless against the American aggressive and utilitarian policy. This policy is getting more aggressive and utilitarian with Trump’s victory in the 2024 election.
Keywords: Germany, France, Europe, Donald Trump, Britain
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