Not every gripe that Europeans have with Donald Trump stems from his bluntness when he tells them the truth–Danish people aren’t wrong when they say Trump is being rude to demand that they hand over Greenland to the US, even if Trump believes that the Danes can’t defend the strategically-located territory. Still, the hatred for Trump has nothing to do with tariffs or bullying.
European leaders hate him because he will tell them hard truths they desperately want to deny. German diplomats literally laughed when Trump warned them that they were too dependent on Russian gas, but after the invasion of Ukraine and the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline (conducted by Ukraine with the assistance of the United States’ Joe Biden!) they were not laughing.
Early in his first term, Trump began pushing NATO countries to at least honor their treaty obligations to…
