Since the defeat of Hitler’s Nazi regime, Germany has rebuilt itself, becoming one of the world’s great industrial, economic and political powers, and one of America’s staunchest allies. Indeed — when the horrors of World War II were still fresh in everyone’s memories, the U.S. aided in Germany’s renewal by including it as one of the principal beneficiaries of the Marshall Plan. Without Hitler, we could become friends again.

Until now, anyway.

In the wake of the chaos being created by the new administration in Washington, Germany has also seen a shift to the right following its recent election with the emergence of Friedrich Merz’s conservative, center-right CDU/CSU as the majority party in the Bundestag, having won 28.5% of the vote.

An additional concern — and not a small one — is the second-place win of 20.8% of the vote by the far-right, pro-Russian AfD (“Alternative for Germany”) party, which will factor heavily into Merz’s efforts to form his coalition government.

AfD is headed by 46-year-old Alice Weidel, a former Goldman Sachs analyst who holds degrees in economics and business administration, and a doctorate in international development. The party is vocally Eurosceptic, and opposes immigration into Germany — especially of Muslims. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has labelled the party as a “suspected extremist organization.”

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Even setting aside AfD’s potential influence, Friedrich Merz — much like Donald Trump — has begun his term as Chancellor with a bang. But it is Trump himself who is the cause of Merz’s turn away from ardent Atlanticism to a more “Europe first” stance. During a post-election debate on Sunday, his comments included this:

“I would never have thought that I would have to say something like this in a TV show but, after Donald Trump’s remarks last week … it is clear that this government does not care much about the fate of Europe. My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA.” [Katya Adler, BBC, February 24, 2025.]

Europe is stunned by Trump’s stated intention to demolish the security guarantees that have existed between the European nations and the United States for the past 80 years, leaving their continent feeling, at the very least, exposed and insecure. Talks have already begun in the direction of forming an independent European defense capability . . . post haste.

Donald Trump may still be living in a world where the United States, because of its geographical separation from Europe on one side and Asia on the other, did not personally suffer the horrors of two world wars. But if so, it’s a dream world.

Europe has never had any such illusions (or, more accurately, delusions). Without the strength of the U.S. in NATO, they would be far more vulnerable to the empirical designs of Vladimir Putin. And Germany is dealing with specific concerns over what will happen to the 35,000 American military troops stationed there . . . particularly in light of Trump’s intended downsizing of the entire U.S. military.

Not to mention his undisguised renewal of his earlier friendship with Putin . . . a whole other nightmare scenario.

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Chancellor Merz is not the first European leader to have expressed dismay at the stunning news coming out of Washington these days; and he won’t be the last. But their countries have each other, and they will band together in their own defense.

Who will the United States have when no one else wants anything to do with us? Canada? Mexico? Trump has already alienated them.With the current assault on our own government agencies and systems, we will be too weak to stand alone.

Isolationism in the 21st century is an impossibility. And Donald Trump needs to face that fact before it’s too late.

It’s a world gone mad.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/25/25