US President Donald Trump has criticized European leaders as 'weak' and suggested the US could scale back support for Ukraine.
In a wide-ranging interview with Politico, he stated that 'decaying' European countries have failed to control migration or effectively end the war in Ukraine, accusing them of letting Kyiv fight 'until they drop'.
He argued that Russia held the 'upper hand' and urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to 'play ball' by giving up territory to Moscow.
In the UK, Downing Street rejected Trump's claim, citing the UK's leadership on sanctions and reiterating support for the US-led peace process.
Trump claimed that ideological divisions now threaten Washington's alliances. When asked if leaders he views as weak could still be allies, he replied, 'It depends', adding they are 'politically correct' and unsure of how to act.
This criticism of Europe coincides with his push to increase pressure on Zelensky and his allies to bring an end to the conflict. Additionally, his comments followed the release of a 33-page National Security Strategy warning of Europe's potential 'civilisational erasure' and questioning whether certain nations could remain dependable allies.
Russia welcomed the National Security Strategy as 'largely consistent' with its own vision, noting it did not portray Russia as a threat to the US.
The new direction indicated by Trump's statements closely follows a previous speech at the UN, where he similarly criticized Western Europe and its approaches to migration and clean energy.
