Mike's Minute: Europe are wetting their pants over Trump and the US

They call it a once-in-a-generation crisis summit. Keir Starmer will be there. Emmanuel Macron called it. Olaf Scholz is ropeable over the JD Vance comments. The JD Vance comments that has put Europe into meltdown were a very good example of what is good, but also what is bad, about Trump. His suggestion that Europe should really be worried not about Russia or the Chinese, but the pressure from within, is actually quite a good point. All he was saying was for all those freaking out about the move throughout Europe to the so-called far right, ask yourself why. What is it you are not hearing, or seeing, or accepting, that is leading to these outcomes electorally? So far, so good. Then he went and gave Romania as an example of a presidential race and that is fairly widely accepted as being a jack up backed by Russia. So he starts with a good point and then messes it up with a shonky follow up, which is not dissimilar to his boss, who quite rightly pointed out that what was going on in Gaza for years hasn’t, and isn't, working. But then he talks about the Riviera and something akin to an upper east side condo opportunity. Anyway, the upshot is the same - Ukraine can be at the peace talk table but ultimately Europe can't. Cue the melt down. This is where the laziness and complacency of Europe intersects with the financial might of America. When you have funded the war, a war that is going nowhere, you call the shots. Europe has watched, for three years now, a conflict funded to a fraction of the extent the Americans did. That means you give up a form of legitimacy. When your were brow-beaten by the Americans into actually forking out for NATO to the tune you said you would, but didn’t, you have lost credibility. So when a big power mad, egomaniac arrives in the White House, guess what? You're going to be called out, shut out and forced to finally wake up to your complacency. It'll all work out fine of course. This is what Trump does - he pitches the absurd, then backpedals. But tell that to Macron, Starmer and co. They are wetting their pants.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.