Standing up to the Trump administration is proving to be good politics in Europe. Spain’s Pedro Sanchez is enjoying what his citizens call “el efecto bandera” — a rally-round-the-flag — as he incurs American wrath over his criticisms of the legality of the US-Israeli war against Iran and his government’s refusal to allow US access to Spanish bases.

Support for Madrid in the face of trade boycott threats has come from the European Commission and from France’s Emmanuel Macron, who seems to be enjoying an anti-Trump bump of his own. The US president appears to have overlooked the risk that bullying Europeans on tariffs and sidelining them ahead of war might not make them very inclined to lend a hand.

© Bloomberg