For the populist right in Europe, proximity to US President Donald Trump was once considered a political asset. That is no longer the case, writes "Politico".
For years, nationalist leaders on the continent saw the support of the American president as proof that their policies had acquired an international dimension. But with crucial elections approaching in 2027, including in Italy, France and Poland, many are rethinking the value of this transatlantic support.
Trump's image in Europe has deteriorated - tarnished by his trade wars, threats against Greenland and a war with Iran that has led to rising energy prices. His interventions, once welcomed by his ideological allies, are now seen as politically explosive - capable of alienating moderate voters, splitting the nationalist electorate and giving their opponents leverage.
A case in point is Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who until recently was considered the US president's most prominent ally in Europe. After Trump claimed that she had "begged" him to pose for a photo with her at the G7 summit last week, Meloni gave voice to what polls have been showing for months.
In response to a social media post in which Trump claimed that she was "not doing well in Italy in terms of popularity", the prime minister stressed:
She reproached him for treating the West's enemies with more condescension than its established allies.
"In any case, my popularity is none of your business", she added. "I suggest you focus on your own".
In France, Jordan Bardella - the leader of the far-right "National Rally" party and one of the favorites for the presidency - is making the same calculation. Last week, he categorically rejected Trump's support and described the US president's behavior as "unpredictable".
Although leading figures in the Trump administration have sided with nationalist parties in Europe, the US president's support has become a "poisoned gift", notes Jean-Yves Dormagen, president of the Cluster17 sociological institute.
"Trump really creates a problem for these leaders," he said. He said that while their electorate is divided on Trump, more and more voters are beginning to perceive him as a threat.
A Cluster17 survey conducted in January in seven EU countries showed that despite right-wing voters having a more positive attitude towards Trump than the general population, only a few of them perceive him as a "friend of Europe" - 18% among voters of Bardella's "National Rally", 23% among supporters of Meloni's "Italian Brothers" and 25% among supporters of the far-right party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD).
In a "Politico" survey conducted in June, only 31% of AfD voters and 36% of "National Rally" supporters agreed that the United States was a "reliable ally".
In the United Kingdom, Trump has become a political burden for Nigel Farage's right-wing populist "Reform UK" party, especially among undecided voters. The same is true for France, where the American president is unpopular among center-right voters who support the "National Assembly" is trying to attract, Dormajen argues.
Especially embarrassing for Washington is that the politicians who are beginning to distance themselves from Trump are precisely the ones his administration was trying to attract to its side.
In the National Security Strategy published last year, the White House welcomed the "growing influence of patriotic European parties".
In the following months, the administration backed up this rhetoric with public displays of support and behind-the-scenes contacts with precisely the movements that now calculate that Trump could cost them votes.
One of the most striking examples was US Vice President J.D. Vance's visit to Hungary to support former Prime Minister Viktor Orban in his re-election campaign in April, declaring it "the right thing to do.".
But after the Hungarian leader's 16-year rule ended in a crushing defeat, most far-right leaders who have set their sights on the highest political offices next year are either rethinking their stance on Trump or reversing course entirely.
A White House official cited a passage from the National Security Strategy that said "America encourages its political allies in Europe" who advocate "the unwavering defense of the individual character and history of European nations."
The end of a political romance
The shift has been particularly noticeable in Italy and Germany, where the far right has traditionally been very supportive of the American president.
Meloni was among the first European leaders to congratulate Trump on his re-election in 2024. And when he unleashed a transatlantic trade war, she was quick to present herself as a possible bridge between a frightened Europe and a president who acted without restraint.
Initially, their relationship was filled with enthusiasm. During a meeting at the White House last April, Trump called her "a very special person." and accepted her invitation to visit Rome, although he never went. Today, however, the two are publicly exchanging attacks after Meloni refused to allow American fighter jets involved in the war with Iran to use Italian military bases.
Meanwhile, in Germany, the war with Iran has deepened a crisis of trust between Trump and the far right that had been simmering even before the conflict. This spring, AfD leaders called on party representatives to limit their travel to the United States ahead of key regional elections.
Not all right-wing leaders in Europe are publicly rethinking their relationship with him, however.
The right-wing populist "PiS" party in Poland continues to maintain its ties with Trump. Poland, which faces parliamentary elections next year, is a close political and military ally of the United States and one of the largest European buyers of American weapons for the country's rapidly expanding armed forces.
President Karol Nawrocki, backed by "PiS", is seeking to use his ties to Trump in his political battle with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who holds the most powerful post in the country.
For "PiS" It is "more profitable than risky to maintain very good relations with Donald Trump for many reasons", noted Wojciech Szatski, head of the political department at the Polityka Insight think tank.
"This gives them a certain advantage in domestic politics, because the Polish president is the only person who currently has access to the White House".
At a press conference in Warsaw on Friday, Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński praised Nawrocki's "excellent relations with the American president" and hailed his alleged "success" of Polish efforts to establish a permanent US military base.
"Most Poles still believe that the presence of US troops in Poland is what guarantees our security," said Szatski.
According to the Cluster17 survey, 17% of all Polish respondents identified Trump as a "friend of Europe" - the highest share among the seven European Union countries surveyed.