The US has had two faces for the last generation. Bush jr. dragged the British into Iraq and generally angered the EU. That the next republican president was overtly hostile to the EU is a continuation of the theme.
It’s hard to build an alliance when one of the partners flips their fundamental goals every 4 years.
Start with Jan. 28, 2003 State of the Union address, Bush's 16 words: “The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” and go from there.
> That the next republican president [...] is a continuation of the theme.
Leaving out EU part, I agree with the continuation. W. commuted the prison sentence of Scooter Libby (convicted of obstruction for interfering with an investigation the bush admin outed a CIA operative in retribution for her husband being outspoken that the intelligence that lead to Iraq where "twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat"). Trump fully pardoned him in 2018. Also, we have Bushism's and Trumpism's. It's uncanny how George W. was like a beta version of the full featured Trump Gold release. Both are/were figureheads that had people running them, the hanging chads 2000 election kerfuffle-fraud in Florida (of all places) that lead to SCOTUS appointing W. as president etc; it's almost as if that deep state maga likes to talk about is real.
Bush was trusted in Europe. We never felt that he betrayed Europe. There were tough trade deals and stupid wars, but there was never doubt we could rely on the US in this times. It was fine.
This started with Trump and Project 2025 and whatever the tea party mixes in there.
I don't think that's true. When I was in Italy in 2003, I saw plenty of anti-American and anti-Bush sentiment. eg: Rainbow flags with "pace" on them and "Yankee go home" graffiti.
Yeah, but I can hate my neighbor for his reckless business behavior but fully trust him in saving my house if the yard burns. Trust and liking someone are very different things.
It’s hard to build an alliance when one of the partners flips their fundamental goals every 4 years.