Trump foreign policy comes under attack from all sides
MUNICH >> An annual security conference where Western allies long have forged united fronts erupted Saturday into a full-scale assault on the Trump administration’s foreign policy. European leaders, would-be Democratic challengers and even the president’s Republican backers took the floor to rebuke the president’s goit-alone approach.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel — habitually cautious about provoking President Donald Trump — led the charge, unleashing a stinging, point-by-point takedown of the administration’s tendency to treat its allies as adversaries.
The speech appeared to provide much-needed catharsis. Trump’s antagonistic behavior has bred two years of accumulated grievance in much of Europe but has been met with few substantive answers on how to effectively challenge it.
Merkel accused the United States of strengthening Iran and Russia with its plans for a speedy military pullout from Syria. She expressed shock that the Trump administration would deem BMWs made in South Carolina a threat to national security.
And she lamented that the U.S.-led global order “has collapsed into many tiny parts.”
The crowd gave the German chancellor an extended standing ovation — a rare display at the normally button-down Munich Security Conference. The customarily reserved Merkel beamed as she took her seat. Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and a top adviser, looked on from the crowd, stone-faced.
The speech, and the response, underscored just how far apart the United States has drifted from its traditional allies during Trump’s term — and how little Europeans care about concealing their contempt.
At last year’s conference, U.S. allies in Europe were reluctant to voice out loud the depths of their concerns with the state of the transatlantic relationship, said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group.
“Now there’s a lot more openly displayed anger about the fact that the relationship is broken,” Bremmer said. “The Trump administration doesn’t understand that it’s not just about how much people pay. It’s about a relationship, trust, how you communicate, shared values. That all matters.”
Merkel was followed to the podium Saturday by Vice President Mike Pence, who was met with only tepid applause — and some incredulous looks — when he proclaimed Trump “the leader of the free world.”
“We came here to reaffirm our commitment that ‘America First’ does not mean America alone and tell leaders, allies and countries around the world that America is stronger than ever before and America’s leading on the world stage once again,” Pence said.
Though the vice president extended some reassurances to allies — asserting America’s commitment to NATO, and celebrating shared victories against terrorist groups — he also offered barbs.
Pence credited Trump with spurring NATO allies to spend more on defense but insisted they are still not spending enough. He also reiterated a demand he first made Thursday in Warsaw for European allies to follow the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal.
“The time has come for our European partners to withdraw,” Pence said.
Pence later said he had had “frank discussions” with European allies about the issue. Merkel said she found the dispute between Europe and the U.S. on Iran “depressing.”
The vice president’s speech was met with disdain by some European officials who say they have no intention of abandoning the Iran nuclear deal and felt his aggressive tone would only stir up more opposition to the deal.
Gathered shortly after, a group of senior European military officers observed with surprise that Pence made relatively little mention of Russia, the major security concern for many of the conference’s attendees.
Other officials joked that Europe’s eagerness to have more U.S. troops on their soil was increasing — to defend against the whims of the White House.
The transatlantic tension came at a high-profile conference with a decadeslong pedigree. The gathering in Munich traditionally has been a chance for the United States and its allies to work out their differences with the rest of the world.