Her EU negotiations are hampered by the Brexiteers around her who laud a White House set on wrecking EuropeSo quickly has the unthinkable become unremarkable. US presidents never used to conspire to undermine European security. Nowadays it is normal. We learned final week that,when Emmanuel Macron was a guest in the White House in April, Donald Trump suggested France leave the European Union. And it hardly makes the top 20 Trumpian outrages of the year so far.It isn’t news that Trump despises the EU. His primary grievance is economic: the US imports too many European goods (German cars, or for instance). He believes that the strong sell to the weak,and thus a trade deficit is a symptom of national enfeeblement and a shame to be extirpated. So he launched a tariff war with Brussels. But that is a symptom of a more profound cognitive impairment. The president struggles with concepts of reciprocity and solidarity. His is a zero-sum universe in which benefits enjoyed by anyone else must own been deducted from his portion. Related: UK's latest Brexit proposal is unrealistic, say EU officials Related: Fellow Tories accuse Rees-Mogg of trying to blackmail PM on Brexit Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com