President Donald Trump sharply criticised Europe as “decaying” and “weak” on immigration and Ukraine in an interview published on Tuesday, further widening rifts between the United States and some of its oldest allies.
Speaking to Politico, Trump also urged war-time Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold elections despite Russia’s invasion, and said Moscow currently held the “upper hand”.
Hardline Rhetoric on Migration and Allies
Trump’s remarks reinforced his administration’s recently unveiled national security strategy, which drew attention for recycling far-right narratives about civilisational “erasure” in Europe.
“Most European nations, they’re decaying,” Trump told Politico in the interview conducted on Monday.
The 79-year-old billionaire, who rose to political prominence through inflammatory language on migration, described Europe’s migrant policies as a “disaster”.
“They want to be politically correct, and it makes them weak. That’s what makes them weak,” he said, adding that there were “some real stupid ones” among Europe’s leaders.
Ukraine, NATO and Growing Strategic Divide
Trump also took aim at European countries over Ukraine, as differences deepen over a US-backed proposal to end the war — a plan many European leaders fear could pressure Kyiv into surrendering territory to Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
“NATO calls me daddy,” Trump said, referring to remarks by NATO leader Mark Rutte during a summit in June when leaders endorsed Trump’s call to increase defence spending.
He added: “They talk but they don’t produce. And the war just keeps going on and on.”
European leaders have sought to engage Trump since his return to office in January, particularly on continued US support for Ukraine.
Alarm in Europe Over US Security Strategy
Trump’s comments are expected to heighten concern in European capitals already unsettled by the US national security strategy released last week, which spoke of “cultivating resistance” in Europe over migration and warned of so-called “civilizational erasure”.
Experts have noted that parts of the document echo elements of the “great replacement theory” promoted by far-right groups and Trump’s former ally Elon Musk, which alleges a conspiracy to replace white populations.
Russia, China and Mixed Global Reactions
In contrast to the criticism levelled at close US allies, Russia and China were treated more lightly in the US strategy. The Kremlin said the document aligned with its own worldview.
French minister Alice Rufo said on Tuesday that the US security strategy represented an “extremely brutal clarification of the ideological stance of the United States”.
Fresh Attacks on European Leaders
In the Politico interview, Trump said countries including Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Sweden were being “destroyed” by migration.
He also renewed criticism of Sadiq Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, calling him “horrible, vicious, disgusting”. Khan told Politico that Trump was “obsessed” with him and said US citizens were “flocking” to live in London.
Call for Elections in Ukraine
Trump renewed attacks on Zelensky, after previously calling him a “dictator without elections” in January and publicly berating him in the Oval Office in February.
“I think it’s an important time to hold an election. They’re using war not to hold an election,” Trump said. “It gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.”
Elections in Ukraine were due in March 2024 but have been postponed under martial law since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, with about 20 percent of the country currently under occupation.
Fresh elections were included in the draft US plan to end the war.
Ongoing Negotiations and Ukraine’s Response
Trump reiterated that Zelensky had not read the US plan. “It would be nice if he would read it. You know, a lot of people are dying,” he said.
Top US negotiators met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week, followed by several days of talks with Ukrainian officials, though no breakthrough has emerged.
Zelensky said on Tuesday, in response to Trump’s remarks, that he was “ready for the elections” if security could be ensured, and said he hoped to send Ukraine’s updated version of the US plan on Wednesday.
