Populism: Why Maga came for Europe

Trump's new right sees the continent as both ancestral home and ideological battleground

28. August 2026 um 19:00 Uhr / Von Amy Mackinnon, Financial Times

A supporter holds up a flag which says "Trump Make America Great Again" during the state visit by the President of the United States of America outisde Windsor Castle on September 17, 2025 in Windsor, England. Bild: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

Trump administration officials have learnt to choose their words carefully to avoid getting ahead of their mercurial boss. But on one subject they appear ever ready to let rip: Europe.

From the vice-president down, US officials have cast themselves as being on a mission to save western civilisation from the continent they see as its cradle. Mass migration, curbs on speech and the surrender of national sovereignty, they argue, threaten not only the transatlantic relationship but the very idea of Europe.