Trump says European leaders are ‘weak’ in extraordinary assault on US allies

Donald Trump said that European leaders are “weak” in a resounding attack on some of Washington’s closest allies amid a growing rift over peace talks on Ukraine.

The US president said in a wide-ranging interview published on Tuesday that “decaying” European countries had failed to control migration or take decisive action to end the war, calling into question America’s longstanding alliances.

Trump said that ideological differences now threatened to fracture Washington’s historical ties with Europe, days after presenting a chilling security strategy critical of Europe and hailed by Vladimir Putin as “largely consistent” with his own vision.

Asked whether foreign leaders deemed weak could still be friends of the United States, Trump said: “It depends.”

His inflammatory comments followed a week of turbulent diplomacy as Europe rallied around Kyiv and Trump turned his ire back to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he accused of not having read the latest American peace proposals.

Fragile talks to end the war appeared on the brink of collapse as Donald Trump’s son said on Sunday his father might be ready to walk away from talks altogether. Asked whether he had been correct, Trump told Politico: “No, it’s not correct. But it’s not exactly wrong.”

“They have to play ball,” he said. “If they don’t read agreements, potential agreements, it’s not easy.”

Trump has repeatedly suggested that Zelensky is the main obstacle to a peace deal, accusing him of having not even read the latest peace proposal. Zelensky on Tuesday was preparing to present the US with a last ditch revision to save diplomatic efforts following talks with European leaders in London.

The US president was less appreciative of European efforts to end the war, telling Politico: “They talk but they don’t produce. And the war just keeps going on and on. I mean, four years now it’s been going on, long before I got here,” he said.

The president singled out leaders and cities in Europe for criticism, including launching a fresh attack against London mayor Sadiq Khan, whom he called a “disaster” who “gets elected because so many people have come in”.

He also hit out at Paris during a rant on migration to Europe, and derided Sweden as a “pretty unsafe country”.

“If you take a look at Paris, it’s a much different place,” he said, adding: “If you take a look at London, you have a mayor named Khan. He’s a horrible mayor. He’s an incompetent mayor, but he’s a horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor … London’s a different place. I love London … And I hate to see it happen.”

Trump was asked whether his message was one of tough love to European partners, or whether he sees them as weak and incompatible.

“I think they’re weak,” he fired back. “But I also think that they want to be so politically correct. I think they don’t know what to do.”

Downing Street denied it was failing to stand up for the London Mayor after declining to criticise the president’s attack on Sir Sadiq on Tuesday.

“The Prime Minister has a strong relationship with the US president and a strong relationship with the Mayor of London and on both is committed to working together to deliver stronger outcomes for the British people right across the country,” a No 10 spokesman said.

His remarks broadly echo rhetoric included in America’s new national security strategy, which questioned whether some European nations could remain “reliable allies” long-term. The document branded Europe as being over-regulated and said it was facing “civilisational erasure”, a narrative that aligned with far-right parties.

The document did not name Russia as a threat to the US at a critical juncture in the war in Ukraine as leaders rally to hash out a peace deal.

Zelensky met with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday during a tour to shore up support from European allies. He said Italy had brought concrete ideas towards peace as he prepares to present Washington with a revised peace plan in the wake of talks with European leaders in London on Monday.

Speaking to Politico, president Trump doubled down on his claims that Zelensky had not yet read their latest peace proposal, and called for him to hold an election.

“They talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore,” he said.

“I’m always ready for elections,” Zelensky told reporters in Rome.

Source: independent.co.uk