Europe is looking for direct communication with Trump, but the White House “is not terribly interested in what Europeans have to say”
Trump at the White House. Credit Line: Rs / MPI / Capital Pictures / Profimedia
Despite the economic force, the size and long -term alliances with Washington, Europe is not a priority for the Trump administration, European officials said for The New York Times.
NYT has discussed with European officials in Berlin, Brussels, London, Paris, Rome and other capitals to get an idea of how they interact with the Trump administration.
According to them, the White House is structured as a palace: the golden oval office is a place for counselors, friends and courtiers, all waiting for the president's decrees. Donald Trump is the one who makes the final decisions, and they are not foreseeable.
Thus, in Trump's first three months at the US, the goal of Europeans is to reach the president himself, Nyy notes. Some have succeeded, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni from Italy, who meets him today at the White House.
“You have to talk directly with Trump”
European officials who spoke to NYT American journalists under anonymity say that the most efficient interlocutors are not traditional diplomats who work through institutions, but special envoys and counselors such as Elon Musk. And it is never very clear if the messages reach Trump.
“Everyone in DC says you have to talk directly to Trump,” said a high European official.
Trump's people at the White House are polite, but they are concerned about the president's intersections, they say the same sources. For example, two European officials say that Americans have not warned the main European nations on resuming discussions with Iran on its nuclear program last Saturday.
According to NYT, while officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and even JD Vance Vice President have “Cordial” meetings with Europeans, the latter is never clear if they have real power over foreign or commercial policy.
Traditional channels of communication, through the State Department, Embassies, the National Security Council, have proven more difficult for productive exchanges, partly because the Senate confirmed very few high-ranking officials. This is not unusual for new administrations, but it frustrates allies around the world.
Pentagon officials are particularly attentive in conversations with allies, European officials have said, attributing this reluctance to being fired.
“It is not terribly interested in what Europeans have to say”
Trump, which despises the collective power of the European Union and believes that many NATO allies are profiteers, maintains their distrust in multilateral institutions, even in those designed by Washington, as obstacles to American power.
The Trump administration “is not terribly interested in what Europeans have to say,” said a European official.
His officials take this to political law. Rubio refused at the last moment to meet with Kaja Kallas, the head of the EU foreign and security policy, which favors a stronger resistance to Russia, when he flew to Washington in February to see him.
Other Europeans are not even registered in the calendar. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, failed in repeated efforts to meet Trump. A commission's spokesman said a meeting was not yet possible.
White house spokesman did not respond to NYT requests to comment on the article subject.
Donald Trump is “100%” sure he will make a commercial agreement with the EU. He claims that a “very good” one will be concluded with China / “No one can compete with us”
