When the latest US National Security Strategy document came out, many analysts in Europe saw this as a confirmation that the US under the Trump administration is concerned about Europe, wants to support Europe, and selfishly wants Europe to succeed. Regardless of whether this NSS will represent US foreign policy and whether this NSS will actually be implemented, both of which are far for certain, this view of Washington from Europe must be cynically and clearly debunked.
God knows Trump is flawed. When Putin was asked in 2024 whether he preferred Biden or Trump, he answered Biden for his predictability. Putin doesn’t understand unpredictable narcissists like Trump; who does? This partly explains some of Putin’s missteps in recent months with respect to Trump and the high-stakes diplomatic game going on between the two superpowers.
But the mistakes go back further in time and are not only related to Trump, but concern Putin’s relationship with the West generally. This is surprising since the Russian president comes across as a balanced, objective and historically-minded thinker; arguably the only real statesman worthy of the name in current times.