Out of the many actions President Donald Trump took on his first day in office, two caught the eyes of Europeans: his announced withdrawal from both the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization (WHO). While Trump had previously withdrawn America from the former, President Joe Biden quickly brought the country back in upon assuming office. Likewise, Trump had announced a planned withdrawal from the WHO, but left the presidency before the one-year withdrawal period was up. Now, with four years ahead, America’s leaving both of those organisations is assured – and if Trump is succeeded by someone like Vice President JD Vance, the United States may never return to either organisation.

This has put Brussels in something of a pickle. When Joe Biden got into office, European liberals were gleeful at the fact that Biden was going to restore the corroding post-Cold War international order. But he by and large failed to do so, leaving his successor with a stalemate in Ukraine – one which is slowly morphing into a Ukrainian loss – a still-rising China, and effectively no guidance for Europe.

The problem for Europe, however, is that they should not have waited for American guidance. Since his first term eight years ago Trump was signalling to Europe that they needed to do more to take control of their own affairs. He was happy to work with them, as evidenced by his annoyance over French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion of a European army, but he wished for Europe to get a handle on its own affairs so that America could focus on its interests, namely China and the southern border.