Barely a month into his presidency, Joe Biden had a message for Europe.
“America is back,” Biden told the Munich Security Conference in 2021. “The transatlantic alliance is back.”
It was a promise Biden delivered often as he sought to cast the disruptions of his predecessor, Donald Trump, as an anomaly. But nearly five years later, Biden’s assurances have proven short-lived.
In his second term, Trump has cast aside alliances forged over seven decades with Europe that helped lead to the reunification of Germany and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
He has hectored leaders, making demands and leveling accusations more commonly associated with enemies. In the process, he has rocked the stability that has sustained the relationships and left countries to chart a course without U.S. leadership.
The most stark example of this shift has been Trump’s threat to take over Greenland, dismissing the nation as a
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