Why Trump’s and Vance’s America is no longer a reliable ally for Europe and Romania, but an unpredictable and dangerous partner

Europe, and Romania in particular, are going through dramatic times. The United States’ disengagement from Europe on military matters, explicitly announced by the Secretary of Defense as recently as Wednesday, was quickly followed by the overt support that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance extended to populist and extremist forces during his speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. It is now clear that Washington’s new administration has officially made supporting European extremist forces a state policy, as evidenced by Elon Musk’s involvement in backing Germany’s far-right AfD party.

Vice President Vance harshly criticized the cancellation of elections in Romania, arguing that the decision was based on “flimsy suspicions” and “enormous pressure from continental neighbors.” He suggested that this amounted to trampling democracy itself—a core value of both America and Europe. Musk, too, voiced criticism in December through several Twitter posts condemning Romania’s election annulment.

Another event with serious implications for Europe unfolded on Wednesday night: the phone call between Trump and Putin regarding peace in Ukraine. The plan announced by the Secretary of Defense essentially envisions a peace deal with no American military presence, no return of lost territories, and no NATO membership for Ukraine. As analyst Adrian Novac pointed out in his latest report, Trump considers the war in Ukraine a strictly European affair, one that should not concern the U.S.

Furthermore, the U.S. cutting USAID funding sends another clear signal that Eastern European and Balkan countries—where American investment has been crucial in supporting fragile democracies—can no longer rely on U.S. assistance as long as Trump is in power. The Make America Great Again movement at best supports extremist, populist, isolationist, and nationalist politicians who champion a Make Europe Great Again ideology. In reality, however, these European MEGA fanatics are pushing to dismantle the European Union in its current form—a federation of states with powers delegated to Brussels—and instead revert to strong, sovereign nation-states.

This does not look good at all. There are plenty of reasons to be concerned. Is the U.S. abandoning Europe? Are we witnessing a Yalta 2.0, a new division of spheres of influence? Will our “strategic partner” sacrifice us and leave us behind after the Ukraine peace deal and a full-scale withdrawal from Europe? It wouldn’t be the first time. They did it before, after World War II, when they struck a deal with the Russians.

Now, Trump’s real priority is forming a tactical alliance with Putin to win his much bigger war: the battle against China. And at the center of this conflict is Taiwan, the beating heart of the U.S. economy due to its dominance in chip manufacturing for Big Tech.

Trump’s fear of losing this technological war with China is likely why he is already eyeing the rare earth minerals of Greenland, Ukraine, and Canada—resources indispensable for the Big Tech industry. Without them, the new arms race in artificial intelligence is already lost. In the name of technological progress, the entire world order and international law are being thrown into chaos.

Moreover, due to Big Tech’s influence over the new administration, Trump is now punishing Europe by imposing tariffs. Meanwhile, Europe is waging an open battle against American Big Tech, as Brussels overregulates, overtaxes, and obstructs these companies. In the eleventh hour, Europeans have finally realized that without massive investments in AI and giga-factories, they will lose the intense competition against China and the U.S. This new investment strategy was outlined at the Artificial Intelligence Summit organized by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, with India as a key partner—France sees India as Europe’s lifeline in the tech sector.

Romania’s Growing Vulnerability

The truly bad news for Romania is that the country is utterly exposed amid these seismic shifts in Europe. With an interim president, a weak and vulnerable prime minister and government, and the prospect of new presidential elections where the frontrunner is pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu, Romania is in a precarious position.

Vice President J.D. Vance twists basic logic when he argues that if democracy can be undermined through foreign digital propaganda, then “your democracy was never strong to begin with.” By this reasoning, the blame never lies with the thief who breaks into a house and wrecks everything inside, but with the homeowner for not securing the place well enough.

Thus, according to the American vice president’s logic, any democracy that falls victim to Russia’s hybrid warfare is at fault for its own weakness, while the aggressor should perhaps even be congratulated for its success. This logic extends to the Ukraine-Russia peace talks as well: Trump argues that Zelensky must negotiate peace because “people are dying,” but he refuses to acknowledge that it is Russia—an aggressor state—that is slaughtering innocent Ukrainians after invading their country.

Even the conservative Wall Street Journal has sharply criticized Trump’s inexplicable deference to Putin and the concessions made to Russia without asking for anything in return. “He must decide whether he wants an honorable peace in Ukraine or if he is willing to risk his own Afghanistan or Vietnam,” WSJ wrote.

Regarding Romania, Vance is also spreading misinformation, claiming that the elections were annulled due to “flimsy suspicions” and “enormous pressure from continental neighbors.” However, James Appathurai, NATO’s Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Hybrid Warfare, explained in an interview with EUobserver how Russia operates: “What we have seen in Romania are social media accounts that were created years ago, left dormant for a long time, then suddenly activated—unattributed but used to influence election outcomes.” Appathurai further stated that Russia’s covert manipulation of EU elections is even more subversive than direct external support for pro-Russian populists.

We do not yet know how this new reshuffling of global influence will end—or whether Romania will once again lose its bet with history.

But one thing is certain: without America, Romania and Europe will struggle to stand against Putin’s Russia. Kremlin experts warn that if the U.S. abandons Europe, Putin will not stop here. Emboldened by America’s military disengagement, he will seek to rebuild the former Soviet Union under a new name—Eurasia.

Europe needs America, just as Romania needs massive investments in independent media, and the EU requires significant funding for defense. But one thing is clear: neither Europe nor Romania can rely on an America that has derailed from its democratic principles.

Trump’s America is no longer an ally Europe and Romania can count on—it has become an unpredictable and dangerous. Supporting extremists in the name of democracy is a contradiction. They are democracy’s greatest threat. As long as the Trump administration chooses to back the far-right AfD in Germany or pro-Russian figures like George Simion and Călin Georgescu in Romania, America is not acting in these countries’ best interests—it is working to subjugate them politically and undermine Europe from within.