Europe is in Trump’s crosshairs

President Trump tells us that he is considering pulling the United States out of the NATO alliance. He is threatening simply to walk away from the Strait of Hormuz, leaving the world to deal with a choke-point problem he created.

He should be mindful of the proverb: “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Our impulsive president has now taken to firing off emotional responses on Truth Social and rubbishing our allies in statements given aboard Air Force One. And his bull-in-a-china-shop approach to diplomacy is wearing thin. NATO partners are now pushing back, and Moscow loves it.

TASS — the Russian News Agency — enthusiastically ran with Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments to Fox News yesterday, that “We’re going to have to re-examine the value of NATO and that alliance for our country.”

He went on: “We are going to have to re-examine whether or not this alliance, that has served this country well for a while, is still serving that purpose, or has it become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe, but when we need the help of our allies they’re going to deny us basing rights, and they’re going to deny us overflight.”

If so, then Russian President Vladimir Putin is closer to achieving his ultimate objective. As Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, has put it, “Putin wants to destroy our alliance, not by attacking it but by splintering it.”

Ironically, the U.S attack on Iran — a key Russian ally that has helped Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — has only further divided Washington from Brussels. Putin, consequently, is maneuvering to put NATO in check and Team Trump is at........

© The Hill