The Trump administration is dismantling the pillars of the United States’ democracy. Europe, whose own democracies are facing internal challenges and external threats, has seen this playbook before. Its leaders have understandably focused on maintaining economic and defense ties with a mercurial U.S. president. But this approach prioritizes short-term gains over the continent’s long-term interests.
The reality is that Europe’s growth and security are threatened by democratic decline in the United States. For the sake of its citizens and global credibility, Europe must defend democratic values now. This includes fortifying institutions at home, funding democracy groups abroad, and saying the quiet part out loud: The United States is backsliding.
The state of U.S. democracy is more alarming than many Europeans realize. For starters, the Trump administration is undermining free and fair elections ahead of the 2026 midterms. It has pardoned rioters who tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and revised intelligence assessments about foreign interference. New legislation and executive orders on voter registration—as well as efforts to prohibit mail-in ballots—could disenfranchise millions of voters, while states may lose election security funds if they fail to comply with the administration’s demands. Trump has repeatedly talked about running for an unconstitutional third term and recently joked about canceling the 2028 polls.
The country’s system of checks and balances has also been gutted. The Republican-controlled Congress—cowed by threats of primary challenges and physical violence—has rubber-stamped the president’s wishes. Although courts are challenging overreach, the conservative-dominated Supreme Court has given the executive unprecedented powers. This includes granting the president “absolute immunity from criminal prosecution” for actions within his “official responsibilities” as well as the authority to remove personnel from independent bodies while enabling immigration agents to conduct indiscriminate raids.
Since taking office more than eight months ago, the Trump administration has also targeted the civil service. The president has denigrated nonpartisan federal officials as “crooked” people, illegally fired thousands of workers, intentionally caused “trauma” to remaining staff, and abruptly shuttered the congressionally established U.S. Agency for International Development.
In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the administration has redoubled efforts to silence dissent. In recent days, it threatened to revoke visas for those “celebrating” Kirk’s death, including a foreign correspondent; called for a crackdown on “left-wing terrorism”; and designated antifa—shorthand for “anti-fascist”—as a terrorist organization. Public pressure forced ABC to reinstate late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after the Federal Communications Commission chair threatened to pull the network’s broadcast license over his comments on Kirk. Trump is fulfilling campaign pledges to target critical media by filing lawsuits against major newspapers and withdrawing funding from public broadcasters for alleged bias.
On domestic policy, the administration has cracked down on immigration with often illegal and inhumane tactics. People have been abducted by masked plainclothes agents, denied due process, and deported to Africa. The administration is redefining who is and is not an American, with the president signing an executive order in January ending birthright citizenship. It is also whitewashing the nation’s history, directing museums, schools, government agencies, and national parks to suppress slavery’s legacy and civil rights achievements as well as the historic contributions of women and minorities.
The administration’s approach to crime reduction has militarized U.S. streets and politicized the military. It obscured crime statistics to justify law enforcement deployments and gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a larger budget than the entire Dutch military.
In Washington, D.C., multiple agencies are racially profiling and detaining suspected undocumented immigrants at work, conducting checkpoints, and increasing arrests for minor offenses while armed National Guard troops walk the streets. Just last week, Trump told top military officers that they were crucial to his fight against “the enemy from within” and suggested that U.S. cities could be used as a “training ground” for troops.
Even science is in the crosshairs. The administration has scrapped grants for cancer and climate research, made medically questionable decisions on vaccines, and politicized government-produced jobs figures. It is also targeting elite universities, seeking to control their hiring, international enrollment, and on-campus disciplinary measures.
As Americans living in Europe, we are concerned about the lack of attention to these dangerous trends on this side of the Atlantic.
This is particularly alarming because the Trump administration is exporting its undemocratic practices to Europe and using alleged problems here to normalize crackdowns at home. In February, Vice President J.D. Vance accused European leaders of suppressing free speech, while the State Department’s annual human rights report had less criticism for dictator-ruled El Salvador than Germany given the latter’s supposed “freedom of speech” violations.
The administration is also shoring up ties with Europe’s right-wing parties: Trump hosted Britain’s Nigel Farage, White House officials received the deputy leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, and the State Department criticized court decisions against far-right presidential candidates in France and Romania.
Furthermore, a politicized U.S. military and democratic regression affect NATO, whose founding treaty commits members to “strengthening their free institutions” and safeguarding the “principles of democracy.” Rising U.S. authoritarianism weakens the alliance’s cohesion, legitimacy, and ability to deter threats. The administration’s cultivation of Europe’s far right risks the creation of a future alliance united by illiberal values.
Beyond that, Trump’s crackdown cuts at the fabric of trans-Atlantic ties, whether in the realm of education, diplomacy, or business. ICE’s unlawful detention of foreign students who engaged in pro-Palestinian activities has scared off prospective European applicants to U.S. universities. EU officials now carry burner phones to the United States, a practice normally reserved for Russia and China, amid fears of spying and harassment at the border.
Stakes are high for foreign investors. Trump has suggested that international companies “become American,” while the administration’s foray into state capitalism—including deals with Nippon, Nvidia, and Intel—raises questions about overreach beyond industrial policy. European relief over the EU-U.S. trade deal announced in July was overshadowed by the administration’s threat to tax countries that regulate U.S. tech firms—implicitly targeting EU legislation that requires social media companies to address disinformation. Finally, ICE’s detention of roughly 475 Korean nationals working at a Hyundai plant in Georgia should raise concerns for European firms.
We do not expect Europeans to save Americans from themselves. U.S. state governments and courts are defending constitutional rights, filing hundreds of lawsuits challenging overreach on tariffs, immigration, and firings. Citizens are taking to the streets with more protests than in Trump’s first term, including the “No Kings Day” protest that mobilized an estimated 5 million people nationwide. Democracy activists are developing alternative forms of resistance, such as support for legal defense funds, documentation of ICE detentions, and the anti-Tesla protests that helped drive Elon Musk out of government.
Still, the road ahead is difficult. Americans are exhausted, ground down by years of partisanship, and increasingly afraid of online doxxing and political violence. These fears have contributed to a culture of silence and preemptive obedience, including from prestigious law firms and universities. Democrats have limited power as the congressional minority. The party has failed to find a compelling, unifying message for voters, and their approval ratings are at a 35-year low.
For all these reasons, concerned Americans need support from their international friends. Europeans should work more closely with U.S. state governments, which are pushing back on objectionable federal policies and championing alternative approaches, and strengthen ties with civil society organizations across the Atlantic.
Given U.S. cuts to foreign aid, Europe should invest more in democracy organizations globally. This is a tall order here, especially given cuts governments are making to development budgets to ramp up defense spending. But if European leaders value a global order rooted in rule of law, then they must articulate its value and invest in its protection.
European leaders should also publicly express their concern about troubling developments in the United States. It is always hard to criticize allies, especially given the fear of retaliation from this administration, including on sustained support for Ukraine. But silence on backsliding—driven by the desire to protect economic and security ties—allows the erosion of the very foundations that underpin this stability.
European governments would be wise to safeguard their own democracies as a bulwark against authoritarian contagion, including countering interference from the Trump administration and MAGA-linked groups among Europe’s far-right parties. Europe must expedite efforts to reduce its dependence on the United States, deepening the EU’s internal market and strengthening defense and technology capabilities. Despite national differences, Europe must stand united against efforts by the Trump administration to play countries off one another.
Finally, Europe must prepare for the consequences of U.S. authoritarianism. Leaders should be ready to reduce cooperation in areas where politicization undermines the United States’ reliability and compromises its traditional leadership. This includes strengthening ties with democratic allies globally to spearhead reform, supporting international organizations, and preparing for collective action without the United States.
The window to defend U.S. democracy is rapidly narrowing. Silence normalizes undemocratic practices in the United States, facilitates their export to Europe, and weakens resilience on both sides of the Atlantic.
The choice for Europe is simple: defend democratic values now or risk losing them entirely—along with the stability and prosperity that they provide.
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