US President Donald Trump has accused European leaders of being ‘weak’ and suggested the US could scale back support for Ukraine.
In a wide-ranging interview with Politico, he accused European countries of failing to control migration or take decisive steps to end Ukraine’s war with Russia and allowing Kiev to fight “until they fall.”
European leaders have attempted to assume a role in the U.S.-led effort to end the war, which they fear will undermine the continent’s long-term interests in favor of a quick resolution.
In Britain, Downing Street dismissed Trump’s claims that Europe had failed to take action, citing Britain’s role on sanctions and support for the peace process.
Trump has continued to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to agree to a deal to end the conflict, urging him to “play ball” by making territorial concessions to Moscow. Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Zelensky has ruled out a land surrender and Ukraine is preparing to submit a revised peace plan to the White House.
Zelenskyy wrote to
In the interview, Trump argued that ideological divisions now risked collapsing alliances in Washington.
Asked whether leaders he sees as weak can still be allies, he said: “It depends,” adding, “I think they’re weak, but I also think they want to be politically correct. I think they don’t know what to do.”
Trump’s latest public criticism of Europe comes a day after European leaders gathered in London to discuss ongoing joint efforts to stop the war in Ukraine.
Asked whether Europe could help end the war, the US president said: “They talk, but they don’t produce, and the war just goes on and on.”
Ukraine’s president has put pressure on European and NATO leaders to stop the United States from supporting a deal he fears could leave Kiev vulnerable to future attacks.
On Sunday, Trump suggested, without evidence, that Zelensky was the main obstacle to peace. In the Politico interview, he claimed that Ukrainian negotiators “liked” the U.S.-backed proposal and that Zelenskyy had not yet read it.
President Trump’s latest public criticism of Europe comes as he seeks to pressure Zelensky and his allies in Kiev to end the war in Ukraine.
The president’s comments also come after his administration released a new 33-page national security strategy that warns of a potential “civilization erasure” of Europe and questions whether some countries can remain reliable allies.
Russia welcomed the strategy, which did not make Russia a threat to the United States, as “largely consistent” with Moscow’s vision.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that some parts of the strategy are plausible, some understandable but other elements are unacceptable from a European perspective.
He rejected the idea that the United States should “save democracy” in Europe, saying Europeans can solve such problems themselves.
The strategy followed similar rhetoric from President Trump in a speech to the United Nations earlier this year, in which he harshly criticized Western Europe and its approach to immigration and clean energy.
