EU ‘Bent at the Knee’ to Trump as New Trade Deal Signed
White House official Sebastian Gorka has claimed the European Union has effectively ‘bent at the knee’ to US President Donald Trump after signing a new trade agreement that includes significant tariffs and major investment pledges to the United States. The deal, concluded during a meeting between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, involves a 15% tariff on most EU exports to the US, alongside commitments by Brussels to invest $600 billion into the US economy and purchase $750 billion worth of American energy over three years.
Gorka, serving as senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, described the agreement as a geopolitical victory for Washington, emphasizing the ‘America First’ strategy’s success. However, the agreement faced widespread criticism across Europe, with several political leaders condemning it as a ‘submission’ to US interests and a ‘moral fiasco.’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticized the deal, stating: ‘Donald Trump ate Ursula von der Leyen for breakfast.’ French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou condemned the agreement as a ‘submission’ to US interests, while Marine Le Pen, a prominent opposition leader in France’s National Rally party, called it a ‘political, economic, and moral fiasco.’
Italian opposition figures also denounced the deal, despite Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s attempt to present it as a positive development. Giuseppe Conte, head of the Five Star Movement, said, ‘There is a winner – US President Trump – and a loser, or rather two: The EU and Giorgia Meloni.’
Von der Leyen attempted to defend the deal, stating it was ‘the best we could get,’ noting that the compromise averted a looming 30% tariff Trump had threatened to impose.