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Trump administration’s MAGA ideology strains U.S.-Europe ties

Published: 09 Jul. 2025, 00:03

Ahn Byung-eok

The author is a professor of international relations at Daegu University.

Imagine if, during the 2024 U.S. presidential election, a European political leader had openly endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris over Republican nominee Donald Trump. Trump likely would have responded with personal attacks and threats of sanctions against that leader’s country once in office.

Now consider the reverse. The Trump administration has increasingly inserted itself into European politics by endorsing far-right parties aligned with its “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) agenda. This ideological export aims to reshape transatlantic relations by backing political forces in Europe that share MAGA’s nationalist and anti-globalist views.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, in Jasionka, Poland, May 27, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The clearest example came in Poland. On June 1, independent candidate Karol Nawrocki, backed by the far-right Law and Justice Party (PiS), won a narrow victory in the presidential runoff, securing 50.89 percent of the vote and defeating pro-European Civic Platform (PO) candidate Rafal Trzaskowski by just 1.78 percentage points. The election was seen as critical for Poland’s standing within the European Union.

Since taking office in December 2023, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has pursued pro-EU policies and supported Ukraine amid the ongoing war. His leadership helped elevate Poland’s profile internationally. However, former President Andrzej Duda, also aligned with PiS, repeatedly vetoed Tusk’s legislation. With Nawrocki’s victory, Poland now faces another period of divided government, and further deadlock is likely.

What raised eyebrows beyond Poland was the visible involvement of the Trump administration. On May 27, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) — a Republican-aligned group — held an event in Warsaw. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attended and publicly endorsed Nawrocki, calling Trzaskowski a “socialist” and comparing him to a “derailed train.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany February 14, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Such open support for a foreign candidate by a U.S. cabinet official — especially one with no diplomatic mandate — was unprecedented. It is difficult to imagine that Noem acted without Trump’s approval. Though the Tusk government found the intervention inappropriate, it refrained from criticizing the United States directly, as Washington remains a key ally.

This was not an isolated case. In February, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance attended the Munich Security Conference and escalated the administration’s support for European far-right parties. Vance stated that Europe’s biggest threat was not Russia or China, but internal political forces. He condemned anti-hate speech laws in countries like Germany, implying that such regulations stifled conservative discourse.

The Munich conference typically serves as a venue for multilateral dialogue on global security risks. European policymakers, hoping to discern Trump’s second-term agenda, were stunned. German broadcaster ZDF labeled Vance’s remarks “a provocation against Europe.” While American outlets described the speech as “controversial,” many in Europe saw it as a signal that MAGA ideology had become openly antagonistic to traditional Western alliances.

Vance also made headlines for snubbing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz while meeting with leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party — an act seen as a deliberate endorsement. The AfD has faced legal scrutiny in Germany for its extremist rhetoric, including a proposal to deport even legal immigrants who are not “biologically German.”

In early May, the German government officially categorized the AfD as an extremist group, allowing surveillance by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. In response, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the move as “disguised authoritarianism,” openly challenging the legitimacy of Germany’s internal security measures.

Timothy Garton Ash, a European history professor at the University of Oxford, wrote in the Financial Times that the Trump administration views support for far-right parties in Europe as part of a broader ideological struggle. In countries like Germany, where Muslim immigration has altered cultural landscapes, MAGA proponents see themselves as defending Western values.

For nearly 80 years, the United States and Europe maintained a shared identity rooted in democracy and market capitalism. But MAGA represents a fundamental shift away from this postwar consensus. Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations argues that the Trump administration is working to build a “new Atlanticism” by aligning with ideologically similar European parties, especially those skeptical of globalization and EU integration.

What lies ahead could further reshape the landscape. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a vocal supporter of Trump, is expected to emphasize his alignment with the MAGA movement in the 2026 elections to secure another term. Orban’s anti-immigration and anti-Islam positions have long placed him at odds with the EU.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Oval Office of the White House, May 13, 2019, in Washington. [AP/YONHAP]

Looking to 2027, if Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) wins the French presidency in May, and Poland’s PiS returns to power in November, far-right governments aligned with Trump-style ideology could take hold in two major EU member states. This would deepen the divide between pro-EU globalists and anti-EU nationalists within Europe.

Under “Trump 2.0,” Washington is likely to back the latter camp. While Trump favors protectionism in trade, his ideological agenda is increasingly international. He does not hesitate to criticize allied governments that restrict political movements aligned with his worldview.

As a result, future U.S.-Europe tensions may not be limited to tariffs and subsidies. The growing U.S. support for far-right forces could emerge as a new and volatile front in transatlantic relations.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.