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Comment by 0xDEAFBEAD | Hacker News Reader

Eh, the US was also hated in Europe as Biden was sending lots of money to Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion:

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/06/11/views-of-the-u...

You can see even with Biden as president, around half of Europe's population regarded the US unfavorably. This was at a time when the US was sending more aid per capita than almost all European countries:

https://old.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/1hd7aud/military_ai...

There's no point in trying to please these people. They'll accuse the US of warmongering one year, then demand that the US help them fight a war the next year.

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The very statistic you presented, shows that the USA was seen as neutral, slightly favorable. The fact that there is now an unprecedented animosity towards the emerging autocracy of the USA, does not mean there were no issues before. They just pale in comparison.

You didn't give me enough good grades for my actions, therefore I run amok now, doesn't sound like healthy behaviour.

>shows that the USA was seen as neutral, slightly favorable

Yep, we could've gotten the same level of favorability by doing nothing, just like Switzerland. All of that stuff about the "soft power" we supposedly get from defending Europe is nonsense.

>You didn't give me enough good grades for my actions, therefore I run amok now, doesn't sound like healthy behaviour.

I'm not defending Trump's foreign policy. I'm an isolationist. I'm simply saying there's no reason for the US to try to please European public opinion. You'll never get anywhere.

Europeans just don't like the US. That's been true for as long as I can remember. If they aren't criticizing our foreign policy, they will criticize our domestic policy, as though how we handle our internal affairs was their business. Europeans essentially view the US as a vassal state.

Remember that Trump also had a term before Biden where he undermined cross-atlantic relations.

Under Obama you had the reputational fallout from the Snowden leaks.

Before Obama you had Bush Jr's wars, with especially the Iraq war being very controversial.

>Remember that Trump also had a term before Biden where he undermined cross-atlantic relations.

Sure, tell me about Trump's first term where he made statements about Europe's relationship with Russia that look incredibly prescient with the benefit of hindsight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpwkdmwui3k

>Before Obama you had Bush Jr's wars, with especially the Iraq war being very controversial.

Yes, I'm an isolationist. I say the US should end all defense commitments and warmongering. Starting with Europe. US should withdraw from NATO, because Europe complains about US foreign policy the most. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

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