Try to look surprised. In most European capitals, including Brussels – the COVID-stricken capital of the European Union – people are praying for Joe Biden to win the US presidential election and put the Democrats back in the White House. If that happens, it would make things much easier for them. Western Europe, which still leads the European Union, has been used to building itself with economic, military, and diplomatic aid from the US since World War II, while also getting very angry when America intervenes in the affairs of Europe and the rest of the world.
The Europeans' pathological hypocrisy about the US has long turned into an almost collective obsession: the Europeans want the US to keep protecting them, at its own expense, but kick at it and mock it at every possible opportunity. The Europeans' attitude toward the US is more than a little infantile, and smacks of the ingratitude of spoiled children who have been given far too much by their parents. So it's earlier for the Europeans to deal with Democratic administrations: they are more predictable and disciplined.
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In retrospect, the Europeans should thank Trump from the bottom of their hearts and wish him another four years as president. First of all, he made it clear to them that if they want to defend themselves against external threats – and there are plenty (Russia, Iran, Islamist terrorism, illegal migration), they need to stop depending on the US and invest more in their own security and defense systems. In contrast to all the overblown fears, he did not abandon NATO (and he had no problem leaving other multi-territorial groups and charters). He simply demanded that the Europeans divert more of their own money to arming and modernizing their militaries.
If Europe had to defend itself on its own today, it would be defeated quickly. That is not a desirable situation. Trump's isolationism should be seen as a blessing for the Europeans, as part of the trans-Atlantic alliance: no more will they be dependent on the US, they will make a contribution to the effort to defend shared values.
Second, Trump showed the Europeans that there is another kind of multi-culturalism that doesn't rest on opening borders to waves of illegal immigration and cultural submission to radical elements who want to drown western history in waves of artificial guilt, erase it, and replace it with fascist, socialist-Islamist radicalism.
Trump gave a renewed stamp of approval to principles of guarding borders and preserving national identities, and that is seen in the Old World, too. More and more Europeans are no longer ashamed to stand up for their right to defend their national and European values in the face of attempts to tear down Europe's culture and character. This is the thing that most terrifies the European political establishment: that another Trump victory will strengthen the patriotic movements in Europe.
Then there is also Israel: Trump's unwavering support for Israel, which stems from his desire to strengthen the alliance in order to reduce American involvement, is leading more and more Europeans to think outside the box. The Europeans saw that the Americans' recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights, the legality of Israeli settlements, and founding of the Abraham Accords did not arouse the fury of the Arab world, and did not lead to new wave of bloodshed.
More voices in Europe are speaking up about the need for closer ties with Israel, the need to recognize Jerusalem as its capital, and stop viewing the two-state solution as a magic formula. Another four years of Trump in the White House could make a huge contribution to a more realistic European approach toward the Middle East and the world as a whole.
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