Live from Delphi: Can the US and Europe find a way back?

This special edition of The Foreign Desk, recorded at the Delphi Economic Forum, examines the deepening rift between the United States and Europe amid a second Trump administration marked by erratic foreign policy, aggressive rhetoric, and a perceived erosion of the transatlantic alliance. Guests including Ian Brzezinski, Paul Dans, Peter Baker, and Arantxa González-Lea explore whether Europe should continue betting on America despite growing disillusionment, with Brzezinski arguing that while Trump’s actions are alarming, the broader American political system remains committed to NATO and transatlantic values. Paul Dans, director of Project 2025, acknowledges the movement's evolution beyond Trump but warns of its co-option by elites and the need for new ideological champions. Peter Baker reveals a White House increasingly insulated from dissent, where media criticism is met with legal threats and intimidation, while Arantxa González-Lea stresses that the crisis is structural, not temporary, and calls for Europe to build its own defense resilience independent of U.S. reliability. The episode concludes with a sobering assessment: the era of American-led global order may be over, and Europe must now navigate a zero-sum world with greater autonomy. Key takeaways include: 1) Europe must stop treating U.S. foreign policy shifts as temporary disruptions and instead prepare for long-term strategic autonomy; 2) The transatlantic alliance remains resilient at the institutional and public levels, even if the current administration undermines it; 3) The U.S. political system is not monolithic—Congress and the public still broadly support NATO, even if the president does not; 4) European defense spending must rise to match strategic threats, especially in the Baltics and Ukraine; 5) The media’s role in holding power accountable is under existential threat from political retaliation; 6) The MAGA movement is fracturing between its leadership and base, signaling internal instability; 7) The U.S. military’s overconfidence in quick victories—seen in the Iran war—is a dangerous pattern; 8) Europe must stop being divided by U.S. tactics and unify around a shared security vision.