More and More Europeans are Interested in American Politics—Here’s Why

Trump is everywhere. On the news, in comedy shows, and especially on social media, he is simply inescapable. Everyone is interested in what he’s going to do next, and it is both fascinating and terrifying. However, it’s not just Americans that are paying attention: the rest of the world, especially Europeans, have started to take a closer look at American politics since that godawful day in 2016.

Trump’s election had a worldwide impact—the day after his inauguration people from all over the world flooded the streets for the Women’s March in protest of his anti-women rhetoric. A couple of months later, another worldwide march was organized, this time to protest the Trump administration’s environmental policies. Anything he says or does (or tweets) has an impact on the rest of the world because as the American president, he represents the number one imperial power in the world. Much of this is due to the aftermath of World War II, where the US emerged as a superpower and still remains so. Most of the world, including Europe, has always looked to the US for security and safety, but that has changed (in mainstream rhetoric) since Trump came into office.

American hegemony as a result of World War II has prevailed over the years, with the US having major dominance over other countries. This is why non-Americans have always been invested in American politics, economics and culture. American foreign policy informs international relations; American academia dominates the world’s intellectual output, and American entertainment supersedes any other country’s cultural products. Even American domestic issues, especially concerning social justice, are relevant to the rest of the world. There has always been interest in American everything, and now with Trump in office, there is even more. However, Trump is causing people to see the US in a different light. In Simon Tate’s words (author of A Special Relationship? British Foreign Policy in the Era of American Hegemony), “the non-Western parts of the world—and much of the Western world—now think about the US not as Uncle Sam, but as egotistical, materialistic, bombastic, arrogant, imperialistic, and racist”. In what has been dubbed “the Trump Effect”, the problematic underbelly of American culture and politics has finally been unmasked. After all, America didn’t become racist after Trump, it’s just that now because of him, racists are emboldened and have more of a platform than before.

This has certain detrimental repercussions for the US. The country’s global standing has really taken a hit because of Trump’s unorthodox and unpredictable handling of domestic and international policies. Interpreters struggle to translate his less-than-diplomatic language, and world leaders fight the urge (but fail) to laugh at him at international conventions. America has become the laughingstock of the world, a meme, as people wonder what the Cheeto-man is going to do next. However, this administration has dire consequences for not just the US but also the rest of the world, and many are concerned. What worries most people is his unpredictability; nobody knows what he’s going to do next, probably not even him! Historian Vijay Prashad describes the Trump era of the US as “the suicide of the Western bloc”, and countries are witnessing it with fear and tension, especially Europe.

According to a report by the Pew Research Center, interest in US news is high in Canada, Japan and Northern Europe, with the Netherlands being the country with the second-highest interest rate (75% of Dutch people say they follow American news closely). Europeans specifically are concerned because of the fact that post-World War II history is being undone; with America becoming more and more self-focused, the foundation of the Western alliance is challenged. This is demonstrated by Trump’s abandonment of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Because of this, Europe is now considering a post-American era of economics and international relations. As a result, interest in the 2020 elections are high: more Europeans kept up with the midterm elections than before with the hopes that the Democrats would at least take back the House of Representatives. With so many candidates in the running, the whole planet was watching the primary debates, hoping and waiting for a strong Democratic nominee. Trump had done enough damage already.

One specific European country experienced the extent of the Trump Effect more directly than anyone else: The UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum and the most recent General Election are a testament to the reach of Trump’s influence. According to a poll conducted by the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) throughout the last five months of the referendum campaign, almost 20% of voters claimed Trump persuaded them to vote leave. This doesn’t come as a surprise in the wake of his presidential campaign; since announcing his candidacy Trump has taken a polarizing stance on the issue of immigration, which is what the Brexit vote ultimately boiled down to. When it comes to the General Election, we can safely say that since Trump’s campaign, populism has become an important tool for politicians like Boris Johnson to rally up support. Johnson, much like Trump, made controlling immigration the focus of his campaign, resorting to scapegoating and fearmongering. He cited his desire to restore the UK to its former glory, splendid isolation style (Make the UK Great Again?)—not to mention that said glory is nothing but a shallow romanticizing of the Empire at its peak during World War II. With Johnson in power, Britain doesn’t know what to expect. The whole Brexit ordeal has been stressful enough, but the added weight of Boris as PM? The future is not looking so splendid, I’m afraid.

Brexit was finalized on January 31st of this year; however, it quickly left the spotlight in international news due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since mid-February, all news sources can talk about is the pandemic and various countries’ responses to it. Currently, the US is the country with the highest number of cases in the world, so once again, Europe is looking to the States and observing how they deal with the health crisis compared to them. Trump’s near-daily briefings are anything but productive as people turn to New York governor Andrew Cuomo for leadership and guidance, not just because New York is the epicentre of the pandemic in the US but also because he is decisive and provides factual information, unlike the president. Now, the debate has shifted into whether or not the US should open up its economy, and there are arguments for both sides. On the one hand, the less damage the domestic and global economy takes the better, but on the other hand, we absolutely have to make sure to minimize deaths caused by COVID-19. Opening up the US economy relies on other countries opening up theirs as well, because of how interdependent the global economy and trade have become. In addition, countries are going through this crisis in different timelines; while the US might be open the trade, certain other countries won’t. In short, Trump’s hopes of opening up the States as soon as possible are simply not feasible as a return to normal life will be a long and painstaking process that affects all of us, not just Americans.

Although, the pandemic has not only affected the economy, but also the upcoming presidential elections. States are either postponing the primary elections or forcing people to potentially risk their lives by going to polls in order to exercise their voting rights. Mail-in ballots are being considered as a safe alternative, but there is still an ongoing debate as Republicans are using this opportunity to keep people from voting (such as issuing stay-at-home orders for states that require voting in-person). Beyond the issue of the logistics of voting, there is also the matter of who to vote for. The news of Bernie Sanders stopping his campaign and endorsing Joe Biden was extremely disappointing. Choosing a moderate candidate to oppose Trump didn’t work for the Democratic Party in 2016, and I’m afraid it will not work now in 2020. Biden carries the presidential aura that Trump inherently lacks due to his being immensely inarticulate and ill-mannered, so if Biden were to be president he would at least possibly restore some of the prestige and respectability that is associated with the position. That is to say, he would not be as much of a laughing stock as Trump is, but we must keep in mind that the two candidates are ultimately both old white men who have sexual assault allegations against them, so I’m not sure if Biden would really be the more “respectable” alternative. Americans are once again forced to have the lesser than two evils debate.

It seems like we have learned nothing from history. The Roaring Twenties 2.0 are here, this time only equipped with the bad parts: a global pandemic, a surge of populism, nationalism and anti-people of color sentiments. Trump didn’t suddenly instil these in people, but he definitely had a hand in provoking such extremism. We aren’t without hope, though, because now can be a turning point for both the US and Europe: depending on the results of the upcoming election, Trump may be a four-year blip in the nation’s history, or he may cause a permanent shift in American politics, which will in turn affect the rest of the world. Will Trump’s fumbling of the COVID-19 crisis lose him the election? Will Biden’s campaign be enough to kick Trump out of office? Until these questions are answered in November (unless they postpone the elections, that is) what we have to do is focus on surviving this pandemic: take care of our healthcare workers, support our loved ones, and take it one day at a time. Hopefully, the future will be kinder to us.

By Eda S.

(she/her)

Eda is a General staff writer @ Ashamed. Read more about her on our TEAM! page.

Edited by Halima Jibril