Good morning. We’re covering America and Europe’s strained relationship — as well as Eric Adams, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Valentine’s Day.
Trump and EuropeThe United States and Europe once seemed like inseparable allies. But three events this week show how the alliance is under strain. First, President Trump ordered his administration yesterday to prepare to raise tariffs on Europe (among others), on top of steel and aluminum tariffs announced earlier this week. European leaders said they would retaliate. Second, Vice President JD Vance visited the continent on Tuesday to declare that America — not Europe, not Asia — would dominate the field of artificial intelligence, as my colleague David Sanger wrote. If Europe wants to benefit, Vance added, it will have to deregulate its economy and welcome U.S. tech companies. Finally, Trump snubbed Europe in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. He began negotiating with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Trump spoke with Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine only after he got off the phone with Putin. “We, as a sovereign country, simply will not be able to accept any agreements without us,” Zelensky told reporters yesterday. (Later, Trump clarified that Ukraine would be involved in the negotiations.) Europeans felt the insult. NATO defense ministers met this week to discuss the war in Ukraine, but they weren’t consulted or even informed about Trump’s gambit. Times reporters in Europe spent much of yesterday listening to the continent’s leaders fret about the alliance with America. Europe relies on the United States for its security. Its leaders now wonder: Can they depend on Washington? Today’s newsletter explains the new relationship and its consequences.
Europe’s weaknessSince World War II, American leaders have tried to prevent a revival of authoritarianism in Europe. The United States spent exorbitant sums to defeat Nazism, rebuild Europe and defend the continent against the Soviet Union. Trump views the relationship differently. He believes that Europe takes advantage of America’s military and economic strength. NATO members are supposed to spend at least 2 percent of their economic output on their militaries. Most lifted their military budgets in recent years to meet that goal, in response to the war in Ukraine and pressure from Trump and Joe Biden.
But Trump now argues that 2 percent is not enough. He says European governments should spend 5 percent of their economic output on defense — a standard that no NATO member, not even the United States, currently meets. And he’ll likely ask Europe to take responsibility for Ukraine once the war with Russia is over, my colleague Steven Erlanger wrote. “President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news conference yesterday. Trump also senses weakness across the continent. Europe’s economy lags behind America’s. Three decades ago, the European Union’s G.D.P. per capita, a measure of economic output for each person, was 68 percent of the United States’. Today, it is 50 percent. Trump respects countries that show strength — he often praises China, for example — and, in his view, Europe is withering.
For Europe’s leaders, this all seems unfair. They just spent a decade drastically raising their military spending, only for Trump to move the goal posts. And while Europe has economic problems, it remains one of the world’s three largest economies. China’s strengthThe biggest winner of a U.S.-Europe rift could be China. Many analysts believe Washington and Beijing are already locked into a new cold war. China has several advantages in this conflict: By some measures, its economy is already bigger than America’s. And it has four times the population. The United States can make up those differences by joining with other countries. That’s why American diplomats have tried to build stronger ties with Australia, Japan, South Korea and India in recent years. Europe plays a role in countering China, too. Trump, however, does not see the world in such terms. His America First vision demands that the United States dominate the world and benefit from its riches. If that vision were to get other countries to bend the knee to the United States, it could work. But it could also push some U.S. allies closer to China. If they come to believe America is an unreliable trading or military partner, they could go to the next superpower around for deals. In that case, Trump’s approach could backfire. For more
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Assemble a creamy, classic tiramisù. Avoid Valentine’s Day cynicism. Manage kids’ screen time with an app. Print in 3-D. Take our news quiz.
Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were biathlete, habitable and hittable. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. And we recommend the new Sports Edition of Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow.—German Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com.
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The Morning: A strained alliance
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