The Temperature Is Rising by J.E. Dean

I was in Europe last week, welcoming a respite from the chaos of American politics.  I had feared a frosty reception from the locals, but never heard the word “Trump” once from anyone but Americans during the trip. Unlike in a similar trip I took during President Trump’s first term in office, Europeans now seem to know who Trump is.  The need to ask Americans, “How on Earth did this man get elected?” or “Did he really say that?” no longer exists.

I sense that Europeans, kind souls that most of them are, do not hold regular Americans responsible for the tariff wars and consider the worst of Trump’s second term (to date) something other than their business.  I’m talking about things like attacks on the independence of American higher education, brutal practices to enforce border security, and the cascade of bizarre cabinet appointments and executive orders.  

If Europeans are amused or even just curious about things like Trump pushing to rename the Opera House in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after his wife, they did not ask me about it.

My conclusion is that Europeans are acclimated to Trump, but also afraid of him. The tariff war, America’s support for Netanyahu in Gaza, and the progressive decline in support for Ukraine have convinced Europe that Trump is not their friend. 

Mr. Putin is much hated in Europe. The locals I met with think he is mad and fear him. Many Europeans believe that their country could be next on Putin’s list, meaning that despite the revival of NATO, they lack the confidence that Putin, like Hitler 85 years ago, can be stopped.  And it gets worse. Europeans believe that Russian aggression would continue even if Putin were “taken out,” as one historian explained. They agree with Ronald Reagan’s assessment that Russia is an evil empire.  (Yes, I know Reagan was talking about the Soviet Union.)

I did not hear one European comment that they were lucky because America had their back.  My fear is that Europeans don’t believe we do.  They are keenly aware of the shift in U.S. support for Ukraine and believe, I sensed, that it is only a matter of time before Ukraine is defeated.

If you live in a tiny country like Estonia, the fall of Ukraine would be scary indeed.  Would the U.S. honor its NATO commitments and attack Russia should it decide to add Estonia, a country of only 1.5 million people, to its portfolio?  Fortunately, nobody asked me to opine on that question.

As I left Europe to return home last Friday, my thought was that the temperature is rising in Europe, meaning that I wondered if my trip could be my last for a while.  War is not good for tourism.

Upon returning to the U.S. I “plugged back in” to American news.  I had skimmed the news while in Europe but did not watch a single newscast (via internet) or read American newspapers while on the trip.  I was in for a shock when I caught up.

The Jeffrey Epstein scandal was just starting when I left.  You know where it is now.  I also had not read the latest about Trump’s declining physical and mental health.  

I could say that the “Trump News” is nothing new. All of us, including those who think of themselves as supporters of the President, now expect the President to say weird things, stick his nose in subjects where it has no business (think of Trump’s demand that Washington’s football team restore its former, racist name), launch wild accusations against former President Obama, or get caught cheating at golf in Scotland during a trip costing taxpayers more than $10 million.

I’d say the temperature is rising for Donald J. Trump.  Even his supporters are asking questions Trump doesn’t want raised.

But Putin and Trump are not the only people feeling the heat.  I am not enjoying the weather on the Eastern Shore this week.  It’s been miserable—it makes me miss the “cool” 80-degree temperatures I experienced in Europe.  

Don’t forget that Donald Trump denies climate change and, between rounds of golf, is dismantling both efforts to address it and the means to monitor it.  

J.E. Dean writes on politics and government but, too frequently, on President Trump. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean also writes for Dean’s Issues & Insights on Substack.