The critics were quick to jump in. Soon after the European Commission struck its trade deal with President Donald Trump on July 27th, it was being savaged in European capitals. François Bayrou, the French prime minister, called it a “dark day when an alliance of free peoples, united to affirm their values and defend their interests, resolves to submit”. Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor, worried about “severe damage” to the German economy. Viktor Orban, Hungary’s populist leader, twisted the knife, saying that Mr Trump “ate Ursula von der Leyen for breakfast”.
