Europe is panicking about President Donald Trump’s return. The real crisis isn’t in Washington. It’s in Europe’s refusal to take its own security seriously.

European leaders are rattled. President Trump is back in the White House. Greenland is suddenly part of the geopolitical conversation. NATO’s future feels negotiable.

For decades, Europe treated American protection as a law of nature. Now it faces a blunt truth: U.S. security guarantees have always been political, not automatic.

If that protection can no longer be taken for granted, the question isn’t “How do we escape America?” It’s “How do we finally grow up?”

Yes, Europe leans heavily on Washington — for nuclear deterrence, advanced hardware, and the political muscle that holds NATO together.

But this dependence isn’t onesided. The United States gains........

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