A new confrontation series has begun starring the triangle of Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the European Union. Day by day, recently, it becomes evident that the gap between the Republican establishment and Europe has widened. As the world watches the escalating confrontation between the two billionaires and former associates with the Old Continent, new concerns arise about where this divergence of views and deep polarization between the US and EU might lead during a period of intensifying geopolitical challenges. At a time when unity and consensus in the face of events indicating instability on the diplomatic chessboard is deemed more imperative than ever, the once close allies US and Europe are drifting apart, with a new doctrine taking shape and diplomatic balances changing.
Trump and Musk have positioned themselves numerous times against the EU regarding structural issues concerning institutional functioning with statements that can be interpreted as interventions regarding European government officials. The two former close associates have adopted harsh characterizations, criticizing in sharp tones officials who oppose their positions and the practices of the American establishment.
Trump: The American “national security strategy” that undermined the climate
Days ago, US President Donald Trump stated that, in his view, Europe “follows certain wrong paths.” His statements came a few days after Washington published the new American “national security strategy,” a document that criticizes European governments, mainly on immigration issues. “Europe must be very careful,” Trump told reporters at the White House during an event supporting farmers affected by tariffs. “Europe is following some bad directions – very bad for the people. We don’t want Europe to change so much,” he added, without clarifying exactly what he meant.
The occasion for Donald Trump’s statement was a question about the European Union’s multi-million dollar fine against Elon Musk’s X platform, which the Republican characterized as a “dirty” decision. The interested party Musk, for his part, demanded that the EU be “abolished.”
Musk’s “attacks” against EU
In the criticisms against the European Union that Musk had directed through his posts on X, following the 120 million euro fine imposed on the platform for violating transparency rules, the billionaire had written the following: “The European Union is not Democracy, rule of the people, but rather bureaucracy of unelected bureaucrats!”
At the same time, he had reposted a message from another user that stated: “It’s hilarious reading all these tweets from Europeans telling Americans not to interfere in European politics. These are the same people who spent the decade obsessively tweeting against Trump!”, commenting himself: “Indeed, there are so many politicians in Europe who are traitors to their own people.”
It should be noted that the European Commission imposed a fine on X for violating EU rules under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to limit the spread of illegal content. The violations included lack of transparency regarding X’s advertising library and the company’s decision to change its blue verification mark from a verification tool to a “misleading” paid feature.
The Trump administration has criticized the DSA and the Digital Markets Act, which prevent large online platforms like Google, Amazon and Meta from excessively expanding their online empires.
