Europe risks becoming a prop on Trump’s soundstage
According to a study by the European Council on Foreign Relations, Donald Trump is imposing his political views on his European allies.
Published on September 23, 2025
Europe risks becoming a prop on Trump’s soundstage
Bart, co-founder of Media52 and Professor of Journalism oversees IO+, events, and Laio. A journalist at heart, he keeps writing as many stories as possible.
When Donald Trump returns to the global spotlight, Europe finds itself at risk of playing a supporting role in a reality show it never wanted to join. That is the warning from a new analysis by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), which argues that Europe must resist being cast as a passive character in Trump’s culture war. “Europe is becoming a prop rather than a protagonist,” the authors write.
The choice, they argue, is stark: reclaim agency or accept humiliation.
At first glance, the transatlantic rift appears to be an argument over values. Trump and his allies in the U.S. new right attack Europe’s approach to migration, climate, regulation, and what they label “woke” culture. However, ECFR insists that beneath the noise lies a more fundamental struggle: one about Europe’s identity, dignity, and status in the international order. It is not just about who shouts loudest on television, but whether Europe can act with autonomy when confronted by a more aggressive, transactional America.
Humiliated Europe
The report identifies moments that symbolise this imbalance. One example was the July 2025 trade deal in which European negotiators, under pressure, accepted a 15 percent tariff ceiling. The smiles and handshakes that followed may have appeared diplomatic, but many observers saw something else: capitulation. “Humiliated Europe,” ran one headline. Such scenes matter because they send a signal - to American conservatives, to Europe’s own citizens, and to the rest of the world - about who holds the upper hand.
Ideology, however, travels as quickly as tariffs. Trumpism is not just a domestic American phenomenon; it is an export. European far-right parties borrow not only slogans but infrastructure from their U.S. counterparts. Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gatherings in Budapest and elsewhere demonstrate the transatlantic nature of the movement. “The culture war is being imported,” the ECFR report warns, pointing to how narratives on free speech and sovereignty are weaponised against the European mainstream. If the United States positions itself as the defender of liberty, Europe is portrayed as the censor, a caricature that undermines the credibility of Brussels.
Yet Europe is not as fragile as Trumpist rhetoric suggests. Public trust in the European Union remains strong in many member states, with citizens expressing a strong attachment to the European identity and a belief that collective action still matters. In the wake of crises, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the pandemic, European cooperation has often proven its worth. The problem is not the absence of support, but the gap between public expectation and political leadership. Too often, European leaders respond to Trump with caution, flattery, or silence, rather than asserting an alternative vision. The result is a continent that looks reluctant to defend its own stage.
Sovereignty and patriotism
The ECFR analysis challenges Europe to move beyond this reactive posture. Instead of letting Washington define the terms, Europe should reclaim contested concepts such as sovereignty and patriotism, framing them in a way that strengthens the European project rather than feeds nationalist backlash. “It is time for Europe to be the author of its own story,” the report argues. That means articulating not only what Europe is against—authoritarianism, climate denial, and illiberalism— but also what it is for: a liberal democracy that protects free speech while safeguarding dignity, a union capable of acting in the world without waiting for U.S. permission.
Strategic autonomy is central to this shift. Europe cannot eliminate its interdependence with the United States, nor should it. But it can reduce its vulnerability. That requires investment in defence, technology, and energy that allows Europe to act when Washington is unwilling or hostile. It also demands political will: the courage to enforce European regulation, pursue independent trade agreements, and defend multilateral institutions even when they clash with Trumpist instincts. Symbolism matters here, too. Refusing to smile through humiliation can be as important as drafting another communiqué.
Unity remains fragile
Such ambitions are easier to state than to implement. European unity remains fragile, and some member states are more susceptible to Trumpist narratives than others. In countries such as Hungary or Italy, the new right already enjoys government influence; in others, Eurosceptic parties are on the rise. The challenge for Brussels is to craft a common stance that accommodates diversity without diluting resolve. Leadership from major players, such as Germany, France, and Poland, will be decisive. Coalitions of the willing may have to act first, setting precedents that later draw in reluctant partners.
What is at stake is not only Europe’s standing with the United States, but also its credibility at home. Citizens who believe in the European project want it to stand for something tangible and meaningful. If they see only appeasement or paralysis, disillusionment will grow, feeding precisely the forces that Trumpist allies hope to empower. Conversely, if Europe demonstrates that it can resist humiliation, deliver results, and defend its values, it strengthens both its internal legitimacy and its global role.
The risks of inaction are clear. Dependence on the United States leaves Europe vulnerable to policy swings in Washington. If Trump treats alliances as transactional deals, Europe may find itself sidelined in negotiations on Ukraine, climate, or trade. Worse still, if Europe is seen as incapable of defending its own values, its moral authority will erode. “The costs of passivity are humiliation and irrelevance,” ECFR warns. By contrast, a Europe that acts with agency could redefine the transatlantic relationship as one of peers rather than subordinates.
Truman Show
Ultimately, the ECFR report portrays the moment as Europe’s own Truman Show. Does it remain on Trump’s soundstage, a secondary character in someone else’s production, or does it walk through the door and reclaim its role as a protagonist in world affairs? The metaphor may be theatrical, but the stakes are very real. Europe’s choice is between being shaped by the United States or shaping itself.
If it chooses the latter, it may yet prove that liberal democracy has a future not as a reality show, but as a reality worth defending.
