Trump Slams Europe's Leaders as 'Weak'

A newly released Trump administration doctrine went after Europe in harsh fashion, warning that its nations face "civilizational erasure" because of policies on immigration and other issues. Now, in a new interview with Politico, President Trump himself doubles down on the criticism:

• "I think they're weak" and "politically correct," he says of Europe's leaders. "I think they don't know what to do. Europe doesn't know what to do."
• Trump amplified the US warning that some European states "will not be viable countries any longer" because of migration, and he criticized the cities of Paris and London in particular. The latter's mayor, Sadiq Khan, "gets elected because so many people have come in."
• Axios finds it notable that Trump singled out Hungary's hardline ruler Viktor Orban for praise because "he allows nobody in his country." Trump also praised Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "tough cookie."

• All in all, the comments threaten a "decisive rupture" with France, Germany, and other nations at a particularly sensitive time given the efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, per Politico.
• Elsewhere on foreign policy, Trump again declined to rule out the possibility of sending US ground troops to Venezuela to oust Nicolas Maduro. "I don't want to rule in or out," he said. "I don't want to talk to you about military strategy."