President Donald Trump’s conservative allies across Europe are souring on the president as he pursues his “framework” for acquiring Greenland.
Despite Trump backing off threats to impose 10% tariffs on eight European nations and ruling out military force to seize Greenland, right-wing leaders and their supporters are growing resentful as “America First” increasingly means their countries finish second. (RELATED: Trump Calls Off Tariffs After Reaching ‘Framework’ Of Greenland Deal)
Trump entered 2026 with weak favorability among Europe’s right-wing. Only about one-third of supporters of right-wing parties in France and Germany held at least a “positive” view of Trump, according to a Politico survey from December. His push for Greenland — and the U.S. operation that captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro — has since fueled new backlash from some European right-wing figures.
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, said Trump had “violated a fundamental campaign promise — namely not to interfere in other countries,” at a press conference this week, CBC reported. Weidel’s co-leader, Tino Chrupalla, added that Trump was using “Wild West methods” in his foreign policy.
Co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel gives a speech during a session on November 13, 2024 at the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) in Berlin, following the breakdown of Chancellor Scholz’ three-party coalition. (Photo by JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s National Rally party and a member of the European Parliament, called Trump’s Greenland moves a threat “against the sovereignty” of the European countries and “commercial blackmail” in an X post Saturday.
Les menaces proférées par Donald Trump à l’encontre de la souveraineté d’un État, a fortiori européen, ne sont pas acceptables.
Le chantage commercial n’est pas davantage tolérable. Nous appelons l’Union européenne à suspendre l’accord conclu en juillet dernier, que nous avions…
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) January 17, 2026
“What is being played out today around Greenland is, for Europe, a test of power and truth,” Bardella said before the European Parliament. “Donald Trump is placing us before a clear choice: accept vassalization, or once again become sovereign actors, capable of defending our interests and our integrity.”
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, leader of the right-wing New Flemish Alliance, echoed the sentiment at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, saying “Europe is at a crossroads.”
De Wever said Europe had until now appeased Trump and responded leniently to his tariffs and lack of support for Ukraine due to dependence on the U.S., but Trump had now crossed too many red lines.
“Being a happy vassal is one thing,” De Wever said. “Being a miserable slave is something else.”
Even in the United Kingdom, where Reform Party supporters reportedly showed the strongest support for Trump among European populist movements at 50%, party leader Nigel Farage initially broke with the president over Greenland.
“We don’t always agree with the U.S. government, and in this case we certainly don’t,” Farage said Saturday after Trump threatened tariffs. “These tariffs will hurt us.”
But Farage reversed course Tuesday, saying the world would be a “better, more secure place” if a “strong America” were in Greenland given “the geopolitics of the high north, because of the retreating ice caps and because of the continued expansionism of Russian icebreakers, of Chinese investment,” according to The Guardian.
Exakt samma argument som Trump idag använder för att försöka annektera Grönland skulle imorgon kunna användas för att försöka annektera de norska oljefälten eller de svenska malmfälten.
”Vi behöver dem för vår säkerhet”. ”Om inte vi tar dem så kanske Ryssland eller Kina tar…
— Mattias Karlsson (@sdkarlsson) January 18, 2026
Mattias Karlsson, a member of Sweden’s parliament and former leader of the right-wing Sweden Democrats, warned Sunday that appeasing Trump would only invite further aggression.
Karlsson said Trump could use the same arguments he’s using to acquire Greenland to claim any territory in Europe. (RELATED: Trump Tells Room Full Of Global Leaders Why He Wants Greenland)
“It is incomprehensible that there still seem to be certain ‘tough-right’ debaters who cannot see this,” he said. “Trump devotion syndrome is today a more serious form of TDS than Trump derangement syndrome.”
Even Hungary, whose leaders have arguably been Trump’s most consistent European allies, kept its distance. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Greenland was not a European Union matter, and that Hungary would not join the bloc’s statement on the issue, according to BNE Telinews.
