Re: Everything Trump…
Reply #61 –
All diplomacy is a continuation of wars by other means. The US administration is wilfully reducing their capacity to wage that political war, which is stupid of them, and harmful to those whose interests mostly align with the interests of the US. For the US self-inflicted harm seems the rule of their game. This extends to economic warfare.
That's the second time in as many month Trump has attacked European economic interests, and Trump can ill afford a two-front trade war. The harm EU can do to the US economy neatly complements the harm China can do. However, even if the European powers could, it is unlikely they should. The Trumps will be kicked out one day, while the damage from a global trade war will be lasting. A series of small squeezes would be a better course of action.
This isn't unheard of, of course, you want to corral doubters to your side, "you are with us or against us", and Europe is much more with US than against them. It's pretty transparent, but Europe should play the game as well, taking advantage of the US weakness, and consider what is in European long-term interests.