CNN: The Trump Administration has harsh words for Europe In private, even tougher

Messages make it clear, white on black, if there was still any suspicion: administration Trump shares a deep contempt for Europe's dependence on the US, writes CNN in an analysis, broadcasts Periscope.

In sensitive exchanges, blow after blow, accidentally shared with an Atlantic journalist, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called Europe “PATETICE”

Vice President JD Vance even suggested the pause of an attack on the Yemenite targets because European economies benefit more from transport through the Suez Canal than America. I just hate to save Europe again”

Finally, a compromise was reached: the attack would be carried out, but the Europeans would be billed.

The messages coincide with the strikingly confrontational tone the Trump team has held towards Europe, especially for NATO contributions and for the war in Ukraine. Few officials on the continent still believed that this rhetoric was simply a form of “tough love”, designed to help Europe stand on its own.

But this is not just a political position: information flow makes it clear that Vance, especially, is fundamentally against what he sees as European exploitation, while Europe considers this a mutually useful relationship, enabling the exchange of intelligence, military support and security co-operation.

This will bother European capitals. Britain and the Netherlands joined the Biden administration in the attacks against the Houthite targets last year, and London offered fuel supply for the very attacks discussed in the group's talk on the Signal app.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's official spokesman told reporters Tuesday that Britain remains confident it can safely share intelligence with the US. But he stressed that the British government has <x0 rules and very strict agreements” for safe communications. “For any classified information, it must be communicated through the proper security systems”, he said.

And that would raise concerns in Europe for the apparent important role of Vance in the discussions on foreign policy. It was just Vance who sparked the fierce debate with Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last month, and his speech at the Munich Security Conference marked the start of a rapid reformation of transatlantic relations.

The messages are another “wake-up call for a genuine European defence”, former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt wrote on X. “