Small European countries, if Donald Trump is re-elected president of the United States, are going to flatter him with flattery and purchases of American weapons.
The New York Times writes about this, citing its sources among European diplomats, noting that the same strategy was followed by the countries during Trump's previous presidential term.
According to the newspaper, the main fear of European countries is the US withdrawal from NATO. This is hinted at in Trump's election program, which states that "we will finish the process we started last time – the process of reassessing the tasks and purpose of the North Atlantic Alliance."
According to the NYT, European ambassadors and representatives of think tanks are making "pilgrimages" to Donald Trump's associates to learn about his true intentions.
Finnish Ambassador Mikko Hautala, according to the newspaper's sources, directly approached the former president to try to convince him of the importance of the United States to NATO.
In general, several current and former European diplomats immediately warned their governments that Trump, if he returns to the presidency, could not only refuse military assistance to Ukraine but also rid Europe of the American military presence in general.
In turn, Reuters writes that the US Democratic Party has no backup plan in case Joe Biden does not run for a second term. The current American president himself is going to run for election, despite the fall in his ratings. It is also noted that the party has no other consensus candidates whose ratings would not be even lower than Biden's.
Background. As a reminder, the day before, Biden announced the withdrawal of 10,000 US troops from Europe.