The Rise of the Brutal American: Europeans are mystified, disappointed, and frightened of America, a country they thought they knew.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/03/trump-and-vance-shattered-europes-illusions-about-america/681925/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK3zUoEjvgFMfqY-l3ZyWHd-U&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

by nimicdoareu

40 comments

  1. Well the behavior that used to be shameful, is now promoted by the president

  2. We thought that if things got bad the American people would rise up but it seems not.. 

  3. Not even gonna read this. 
    Not frightened or mystified – and that certainly hasn’t been the response of our leaders either. 

    Disappointed? Yeah, but not that surprised either.

    We don’t need articles like whatever this is. 
    If there’s any kind of *propaganda* we need, it’s that of positive one, which shows European Unity and Strength.

  4. Guys we need to ditch our dependency on the USA

    join r/BuyFromEU

  5. Was just a matter of time until the archetypal school shooter got to run the whole country. I am actually not that surprised, I mean, look at them! Look at how they tread their poor, their mentally ill, their weak, how they run their prisons, how they rip off and kill each other on a day to day basis.

    All things considered, one could wonder how they managed to keep their act together for that long? But maybe I’m talking out of passion.

    There are also a lot of decent US Americans.

  6. The US have been treating the global south like this for decades though, and we let them carry on when we weren’t aiding them. It’s as shocking as when the schoolyard bully eventually turn on you after you ignored him being an idiot or cheered him on to try to stay on his good side.

  7. I am actually surprised, didn’t think they’d turn full on support for Russia this quickly and this hard.

  9. As a European, whose grandparents were actually in concentration camp, I am not frightened, I am disgusted and ashamed that I once, as a kid, actually believed the USA were great country.

  13. I think America is just waiting for the boomers to finally fuck off and die

  15. We’re surprised by the sudden turn around against allies but everything else was always there.

  16. I think disappointment is the only thing I’d feel. Mystification and fright suggest a level of toothlessness and inability that I don’t think are there. If nothing else, because I would trust my fellow European friends – and I say European. 

    It’s possible to have this attitude and acknowledge that Europe has made grave mistakes in the past though. It’s about rallying behind what needs to be done and supporting each other, I guess. We may often think whatever about our leadership, but at least they’re politicians.

    I would just hope that there’ll be more aggression and decisiveness on our part, whether that’s pursuing Article 7 against Hungary – addition by subtraction, or something else. 

  19. Not that shocked. At least no one but the most die-hard of transatlanticists.

  20. What I can say is that as an American it is disappointing.

    Many of us have spent the better part of the last decade protesting, speaking out and doing what is reasonably within our means as individual people to do our part to push back.

    I feel welcome to dissent from the global stage right now towards us, because our legislators seem pretty content with pageantry rather than doing their jobs.

    I just ask to remember that we, like all other nations are not a monolith. I can’t lie and say that the indiscriminate hate towards us isn’t justified, but it does feel a little scary to be shouting from the rooftops for the last 10 years that this is crazy and not normal, and then to see the world stage understandably not want to engage with said crazy.

    I did want to dispel a few things I’ve seen a lot recently though regarding guns in the US, and about 2A and why we aren’t rising up.

    The people who are in opposition of trump and legislators alike are largely in support of gun laws and restrictions in the US. Left leaning Americans are far less likely to own a gun, or support gun ownership all together. They are far less likely to have guns to uprise with anyways.

    Additionally, our own government has a history of killing its own citizens during times of opposition. Examples of this include:

    The Kent state University massacre in which our own national guard open fired on and killed university students protesting the Vietnam war.

    Philadelphia bombing– the police bombed a black neighborhood in Philadelphia, killing many, including children because they opposed MOVE, a black liberation non-profit.

    There are countless incidents like this, and I don’t think people have reached the point they are willing to sacrifice their lives. Who wants to resort to that?

    Everyone is hoping this resolves diplomatically and doesn’t have to result in the worst, but only time will tell.

    Until then, thank you for your efforts and calling out the shitshow that is our current government.

  21. They have been treating their own like shit for years. At some stage, it spills out.

  23. I’m an American (a gun-loving, semi-conservative one at that) who’s mystified, disappointed, frightened, and ashamed of what my country is doing. In the span of a week, I went from thinking, “we can contain this, float, bluff, and bluster our way through four years and then get back on track finally” to “What the **** just happened? This can’t possible be the country I knew and loved anymore…”

  24. As a Russian in the EU, I feel like Americans receive more hate now from Europeans than even Russians have gotten as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine!

    It is sort of unfair.

  25. I’m not mystified at all. For anyone who’s been paying attention, the writing has been on the wall for quite a while now.

  27. Thought we knew? No. I’m sorry but this lot have for decades been moving away from our values as modern progressive societies. We knew them well. They were wanks

  29. “ The “rise” of the “brutal “ American …. We have always been here 😢….

    Voted republican until 2016 when this bozo got on the ballot 😡. Have never been over the moon about either party; just kept trying to vote for what seemed to be the lesser of two evils . I represented ( as a technical advisor ) the US Navy at NATO in the 80s and early 90s . Things have been challenging here for a long time ; but the results of this last election ( suspect Elon tooled it ,,, but regardless,,, it was simply TOO CLOSE to ignore these last two elections) seriously caught many of us here by surprise . We should have known better ,,, the changes to investing laws , the distribution of wealth , the treatment of minorities etc…
    Many of us have been wearing blinders or rose colored glasses . Trying to think we were better than we are .
    I will tell you %100000 that the racism and misogyny here has NOT CHANGED since the Civil War ,,, it’s just been forced to keep its head down .
    The USA is not what many of us thought it was ,,, it was just hiding under rocks. Trump turned those rocks over and the true USA crawled out from under it .
    I am sorry to say what you are seeing IS THE USA 😭😭😭. Many of us here , our heads are spinning. We are reeling, and the hits keep coming.
    I have immensely admired how the Ukrainian people gathered together and have taken their country back and fight together.
    I don’t think the USA will get there for many generations. If it ever does. There are people here that are WILLFULLY ignorant. They EMBRACE it.

  30. We are not frightened !!! Europe was there before USA and will be here again when USA will be long gone…

    Do not fear sisters and brothers from Europe we are in this together and we will get through this as always !

  31. American here. I just wanted to express that I am beyond disgusted with my country and am ashamed and embarrassed to call myself an American. As disheartening as it is to see the rest of the world – including our closest allies – turn their backs on us, it is especially disheartening when it is perfectly justified. Not all of us wanted this. In fact, a majority of us didn’t. But thanks to people who didn’t want to vote because Kamala “would have been as bad” we’re now in a trade war with Canada and Mexico and the already staggering cost of living is going to go up dramatically. I grew up being told that I live in the greatest country in the world and I have always known it was a lie but it has never been more evident to me than it is now.

  32. I am frightened to be living in this fucked up country being run by the greediest most vile monsters

  34. I spent 2017 living abroad in Europe. I loved my time there. The people, the cultures , and it’s a PLACE WORTH FIGHTING FOR! Which I can’t say I’ve ever felt for the US and I’m a veteran. I would go just to join the fight.

  35. Tbh at least 50% of Americans are also every one of those adjectives right now.

  36. America has had an ‘America first’ mentality for most of its existence. USA made Europe, their supposed friends and war allies pay dearly for the rebuild and defense of them after WW2 this is simply a return to form

  37. It’s like that uncle that was always a bit odd and now went full mental. All you want to do is send him to a facility

  39. So are we Americans. So are we. It’s fucked. I hate it. I live in a blue county but in a red district in a red state. MAGA are everywhere. I failed to convince my own mother to not vote for Trump. Facts and logic don’t matter to these people. It’s just about money and getting back at people and a fake interpretation of Christianity supercharged by prosperity gospel and racism. I hate it. It doesn’t represent me and these were not the ideals I was brought up with.

    Then again, this how America had always been, throughout history. Any black person will say “you’re just now experiencing what we’ve known for centuries.” So, like them, we must learn to stand up, know our rights, and resist.

    I stand with my European brothers and sisters and I always will. I’ve been over there 10 times and I have many friends in places which would fall to Russia potentially swiftly. Not on my fucking watch.

  40. [Trump was not elected fairly. ](https://youtu.be/Ru8SHK7idxs?si=893xeC2encAwoJEL). It’s no coincidence that the vote distributions are exactly like other Russian elections. Plus there is essentially 0 chance that 88 counties flipp3d for him and 0 flipped for Harris. Even when Regan won 49 states there were counties that flipped against him. And on top of that, all 7 swing states went in his favor and happen to be outside of the automatic recount. And a cherry on top is that mail in ballots seem to be unaffected so them railing against mail ballots seems even more suspicious. The election was rigged in 2020 but the mail in ballots were significant enough to that they couldn’t swing the result. And now we seem crazy for suggesting the election was not fair. Way, way too many coincidences.

    If you live in a swing state DEMAND A PAPER AUDIT. If it was fair then so be it but that is extremely unlikely.

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