The good news, from Asia’s perspective, is that the US does not have such political-cultural or territorial designs on the region. The bad news is that Washington still desires to exert leverage over this region, through its trade policy and the use of “poison pill” termination clauses.
EXTENDING AMERICA’S CULTURE WARS TO EUROPE
For decades, US-Europe ties have been underpinned by shared liberal norms, along with strong economic and security ties. Even the 2017 National Security Strategy (NSS) document, published by the first Trump administration, noted that the US “is safer when Europe is prosperous and stable, and can help defend our shared interests and ideals.”
The recently released 2025 NSS, however, reframed this relationship. On one hand, Europe is deemed “strategically and culturally vital” to the United States. Yet, the document goes beyond the typical criticism of Europe’s failures to meet defence spending pledges.
It takes aim at a fusion of politics and culture, warning of “civilisational erasure” caused by policies that erode Europe’s “national identities and self-confidence”. The policies in question include mass migration, which is portrayed as a destabilising blight on Europe’s social and cultural cohesion. Censorship is also a bugbear for US officials, with the belief that far-right views are unfairly targeted and suppressed by European governments.
Put simply, the NSS implies that Europe’s liberal leadership threatens US interests by destabilising the continent. The solution, in their eyes, is to make Europe align more closely with the Trump administration’s political values, extending the culture war that has pervaded US society for political gain.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/trump-europe-greenland-envoy-impact-asia-5771801
