French President Emmanuel Macron delivered one of his sharpest public rebukes of U.S. policy this week, accusing President Donald Trump of weakening NATO by talking the alliance down and sowing doubt among its members. Speaking on Thursday during an official visit to Seoul, Macron said alliances “derive their value from what is left unsaid, namely the trust that underpins them,” and warned that “if you sow doubt about your commitment every day, you drain it of its substance.”
Macron’s intervention — striking given his previously cordial working relationship with Trump — crystallises growing European alarm over a U.S. foreign policy that many analysts say has become increasingly transactional and unpredictable. Their concerns have been heightened by a string of actions and comments this year, from Washington’s unilateral strikes against Iran to public taunts and demands that allies shoulder burdens on terms set by the White House.
Researchers and former officials described that pattern as corrosive to NATO’s foundational principle of mutual reassurance. Olivier Schmitt of the Royal Danish Defence College said NATO’s “exceptional character” rested on a benevolent U.S. role that refrained from imposing decisions by force; that, he and others argue, is being eroded. “The signal sent by Trump is catastrophic for NATO’s credibility,” Schmitt told AFP, noting that deterrence depends on adversaries believing 32 states would act collectively.
The sense of betrayal extends beyond Macron. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned last week that damage to the transatlantic relationship since Trump’s return to the White House had become so severe “even a future U.S. administration might be unable to repair it.” Robert Kagan, a longtime proponent of robust U.S. leadership in Europe, accused Trump of seeking “vassals” rather than partners — pointing to public demands that allies assist U.S. operations such as securing the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian threats rattled global trade.
That mistrust is prompting practical shifts in European defence thinking. NATO members are ramping up defence spending and exploring ad hoc coalitions to manage crises when U.S. leadership seems uncertain. Officials have discussed “coalitions of the willing” to back Ukraine and other measures to fill strategic gaps. Paul Wyatt, director general for security policy at the UK defence ministry, encapsulated the interdependence when he told a Paris defence forum that “Europe is the eastern flank of the United States” and that both sides remain “a fundamental part” of each other’s security.
Analysts caution, however, that expectations of a post‑Trump return to business as usual may be misplaced. Celia Belin of the European Council on Foreign Relations noted that doubts about relying on American security guarantees “run very deep” and resonate inside the U.S. Democratic camp as well. Kristina Kausch of the German Marshall Fund said it would be an exaggeration to declare NATO’s end, but conceded that the old presumption of shared defence interests “is now beginning to crumble” at least within Trump’s inner circle.
Washington still maintains significant military capacity in Europe — more than 76,000 U.S. personnel are stationed across the continent and American bases continue to serve as global staging points — but the debate now centres on credibility rather than capability. As allies weigh higher defence budgets and new multilateral arrangements, the central question remains whether Europe, the Middle East and Asia have the political will and strategic imagination to adapt to an era in which traditional assurances from Washington may no longer be taken for granted.