Trump’s culture war turns Europe into a ‘Truman Show’ spectacle
US President Donald Trump and the American MAGA movement have launched a ‘culture war’ on Europe, says a new think tank report, warning that this transatlantic clash is reshaping European politics.
The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the European Cultural Foundation (ECF) report, published on Tuesday, claims the US is waging its ‘culture war’ through ideological and political allies on the continent, along with trying to publicly humiliate Europe on the world stage.
The authors depicted the current political environment as Europe being stuck in the Truman Show, with Trump’s America in the director’s chair.
Vice President JD Vance’s “infamous speech” in Munich in February, where he accused the UK and Europe of a “backslide away from conscience rights”, warning of the “threat from within”, was noted as the “pinpoint” for the declaration of this culture war.
Trump’s political allies
The report highlights the current US administration as actively supporting its ideological allies in European politics, such as meeting with Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, and Karol Nawrocki, an independent candidate for the 2025 Polish presidential election.
The Trump camp is also keeping a close eye on upcoming elections: in 2026 in Hungary, where EU critic Viktor Orbán is up for re-election, and in 2027 in France, where Emmanuel Macron will complete his second and final term as President.
As a result, the report stated “Trump’s America is building on these foundations to wage its own culture war in Europe”, leading to “Europe’s governments and their ‘liberals’ spend most of their energy reacting to crises scripted by Trump and his European allies, rather than setting the agenda themselves.”
“Imperfect as the EU is…. the union remains a haven of liberal democracy for most of its citizens, and a symbol of that for many people around the world,” the ECFR and ECF added.
Trade war ‘humiliation’
In July, Trump achieved a “big win” after inking a trade agreement with the EU following a months-long standoff between two of the world’s largest economic titans.
The agreement saw the US tariffs imposed on the EU reduced from 30 to 15 per cent across a range of products, but the US’s 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium remained.
This was decided at a meeting in Scotland between the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump, to which the report quoted the media photo of the occasion as a symbol of a humiliated Europe”.
Helen Thomas, CEO and founder of Blonde Money, wrote in City PM that the US-EU trade deal signals a new geopolitical era where security takes precedence over commerce, allies are rewarded for their loyalty, and Trump’s strategy forces nations to choose sides – America or China.
The EU needs a backbone
The think tanks have called on European and EU politicians to muster the courage and “defend a Europe that writes its own script.”
It was cited that, despite the sentiment, almost all member EU states still have governments led by mainstream parties that are pro-European. It was also noted that trust in the EU is at its highest since 2007.
“It is precisely the spirit of ‘The Truman Show’ that Europe must now embody: the courage to leave the comfort of a scripted reality and decide its own future,” the report added.