The News
Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon said French far-right party leader Jordan Bardella was “unworthy to lead France” because he was “a boy, not a man,” after Bardella canceled his scheduled speech at a conservative political event in Washington.
Bardella, the president of the National Rally party, said he decided to drop out of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) after Bannon “allowed himself a gesture alluding to Nazi ideology” during his speech there.
Bannon denied the accusation Friday, saying the gesture was “a wave” that he regularly did at the end of his speeches “to thank the crowd,” including at a National Rally event several years prior. Speaking to a Le Point reporter, Bannon attacked Bardella for the decision to withdraw from CPAC, saying he was “wetting himself like a little child.”
The incident reflects mounting tensions between Trump allies, such as Elon Musk, and Europe’s far-right leaders, some of whom have expressed discomfort with a few of the administration’s positions.
SIGNALS
Elon Musk goes ‘too far’ for UK’s far-right
Trump ally Elon Musk’s recent endorsement of British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who is imprisoned for contempt of court, was “beyond the pale” even for Trump-aligned UK politicians on the right, Bloomberg reported. Musk’s foray into British politics last year has created headaches for the government, but the tech billionaire’s criticism of the country’s child abuse scandal and Labour’s policies has largely resonated with the British right. However, after Musk called for Robinson’s release from prison, several prominent UK conservatives warned their Republican peers in the US that Musk had gone “a step too far” in supporting a man with multiple criminal convictions.
Trump’s anti-Ukraine turn complicates relations with his European allies
Trump’s spat with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskky and his appeasement of Russia has put some of the US president’s right-wing European allies in “an awkward position,” the Financial Times wrote. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is torn between her longtime support of Ukraine and her close relationship with Trump. “Meloni is doing high-wire acrobatics,” Italy’s former ambassador to NATO told the FT, after the Italian leader skipped a G7 call marking the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, with analysts suggesting she did so to avoid angering Trump. Meloni is often seen as the bloc’s “Trump whisperer,” but given her reluctance to antagonize him, she is “far more likely to push Trump’s interests in Europe, rather than European interests in the US,” a Guardian columnist argued.
Europe’s populists fear losing voter support over Trump’s tariffs
Though Europe’s populists largely align with Trump’s ideological views, they are increasingly wary of his expansionist ambitions and tariff threats. Trump’s desire to control Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, proved a sore spot for Denmark’s far-right nationalist party. But Trump’s proposed set of tariffs on the bloc has especially unnerved Europe’s nationalist leaders, who worry that the adverse economic impact from duties would directly affect their voter base. “Other than hatred for Islam and opposition to clean energy, these leaders have little in common... with Trump,” Foreign Policy argued, and the fears of losing support at home has made it challenging for them to openly sing Trump’s praises.