Donald Trump had only just regained the White House when his acolytes dealt Europe two verbal sucker punches in the solar plexus.
Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, declared that “stark strategic realities” meant that America would no longer be “primarily focused on the security of Europe”. Then JD Vance, the vice-president, marked St Valentine’s Day 2025 by telling the Munich Security Conference that Europe’s greatest peril came not from Russia, but “from within”, and that there was “nothing more urgent” than curbing mass immigration.
In the 12 months since those speeches, European governments have been forced to confront the stark reality that they must shoulder prime responsibility for defending the Continent, with all the extra costs and risks that implies, because America can no longer be relied upon to give reflexive support to Nato.
