Politico: Beware Europe, Trump is coming to take your election, that should scare Starmer, Macron and Merz

The American website Politico, owned by the German media company Axel-Springer, writes in an analysis titled "Watch Out Europe, Trump is Coming to Take Your Election" that this would be the next task of Trump's MAGA (Make America Great Again) policy - interference in European politics. This "should terrify" the leaders of Great Britain, France and Germany - Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz, respectively, but Politico asks: "Will any of them fight it?"

The text from London says that the President of the United States of America (USA) "has launched a crusade to turn European politics in his favor, mobilizing the full force of American diplomacy to promote 'patriotic' parties, suppress migration, destroy 'censorship' and save European 'civilization' from decay."

In its recently released "National Security Strategy" document, the White House for the first time comprehensively laid out its approach to the geopolitical challenges facing the US and the world.

The official US position is now that Europe's security depends on a decisive shift in the continent's politics to the right.

The three-page document blames the European Union (EU) for increasing the risk of "the erasure of its civilization" due to a sharp increase in immigrants, a falling birth rate and an alleged erosion of democratic freedoms.

Amidst the stories of falling birth rates and rising immigration, it is hard to ignore the racial dimension of the White House's rhetoric, writes Politico, adding that this dimension will be familiar to voters in Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany, "where far-right politicians have articulated the so-called 'great replacement theory' - a racist theory that falsely claims that elites are conspiring to dilute the white population and reduce its influence."

"We want Europe to remain European," the US strategy states, warning that "in the long term, it is more than likely that within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European," which raises the question of whether such countries will continue to consider an alliance with the US desirable.

The political recipe that follows - writes Politiko - is regime change in Europe.

"Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory," the US strategy document says. This will involve "fostering resistance" within European countries, and, the website reports, "in case there is any doubt about the political nature of that message, the White House document celebrates the 'growing influence of patriotic European parties' as a reason for American optimism."

"In other words: Support the far right to make Europe great again," Politiko explains.

Since Trump's return to the White House in January, European leaders have maintained a remarkable performance by remaining calm amid his provocations, so far avoiding an open conflict that would completely break transatlantic relations, it further says.

But for the centrist leaders now in power - Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Keir Starmer in London and Germany's Friedrich Merz - Trump's new doctrine "presents such an existential challenge that they may be forced to confront it directly."

That confrontation could come soon, given high-stakes elections in parts of the UK and Germany next year and the possibility of an emergency general vote in France.

In any case, writes Politico, MAGA-affiliated parties - Reform UK, Alternative for Germany and France's National Rally - are poised to make gains at the expense of the centrist establishment now in power. America, it is now clear, may intervene to help them, the article says.

Based on current evidence, European officials, whose job it is to protect their elections from foreign interference, have little desire to take on Trump, Politico points out.

The European Commission recently unveiled a plan for a "democratic shield" to protect elections from disinformation and foreign interference, and Michael McGrath, the commissioner responsible for the policy, recently told Politico that the "shield" should be widely used because Russia "is not the only actor" who may have a "vested interest" in influencing EU elections.

In light of the new National Security Strategy, Trump's America must now surely be among them, Politico points out.

Even before the strategy was announced, the Trump administration's actions had already provided evidence of its contempt for the European political center, it continues.

This year, US Vice President J.D. Vance launched a scathing attack on Europe over free speech and democracy; Elon Musk intervened in the German election to support the far-right Alternative for Germany, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth privately criticised "poor" Europeans for "scratching" on the US for their own security.

The difference is that Trump's National Security Strategy is official - a political document.

What's worse for leaders like Macron, Merz, and Starmer, writes Politico, is that Trump's analysis may be correct - that a critical mass of voters want their own European MAGA movement.

These leaders are under immense pressure from the populist right in their own backyards, the article says: In the UK, Nigel Farage’s Reform Britain party is on track to make significant gains in regional and local elections next year, potentially forcing Starmer out; Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is “tormenting Macron’s administrators as they grapple with problems in parliament,” while the Alternative for Germany is “breathing down Mercosur’s neck in Berlin and pushing him to take an even tougher stance on migration.”

The British Prime Minister revealed in an interview with The Economist this week that he had spoken with Merck and Macron at a recent private dinner in Berlin about the common threat from the right, which they all face.

But if America implements Trump's new strategy, private dinner conversations among friends may not be enough, Politico concludes.