Donald Trump is ailing in foreign and domestic policy. But does that make the US president less dangerous? On the contrary, Tobias Endler fears. And the political scientist also issues a warning for the time after Trump.
In Germany and Europe the principle of hope prevails: if Donald Trump If he has to leave the White House in a few years, the transatlantic relationship will heal again. But is Trump really just a blip in history? No, warns Tobias Endler. Because in the USA major changes have occurred. Europe, especially Germany, should now urgently arm itself, says the Americanist. Because in his final years, Trump could become even more radical and dangerous.
Why is Germany in particular a target of Trump and his Vice President JD Vance? Why won’t future victorious Democrats not bring back the old days? Tobias Endler, author of the book “USA. The New Enemy”, answers the questions in an interview.
t-online: Mr. Endler, transatlantic relations are under tension, but has the USA actually become Germany’s enemy?
Tobias Endler: Certainly not the USA as a nation, but the Trump administration has given us a clear and unmistakable declaration of war. And not just one. I have had a deep personal and professional connection to the United States for more than 25 years: But now I plead for recognition of reality: The United States in the mid-2020s is no longer the United States of the mid-2000s. A lot of things have slipped there, a lot has changed. Internally, the USA is currently committing self-destruction in many areas.
And does the USA channel this internal pressure externally? This is how you describe it in your book “USA. The New Enemy”.
Europe gets it, Germany especially gets it. Because in the wilderness of the 21st century, Europe is the smallest fish in the water. Now what I call shark imperialism prevails: the law of the strongest applies.
To person
Tobias Endlerborn in 1978, has a doctorate in American studies, political science and an expert on US politics. Endler researched and taught at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies and at Yale University, among others. His book is currently “USA. The new enemy: Trump was just the beginning“published by Goldegg Verlag.
This is bad news for Germany, which still relies heavily on the USA – especially in security and defense, but also in economics and digital.
There used to be concern in German politics if we paid too little attention WashingtonDC, received. Under Trump it’s more of the opposite. The political leadership in Washington is highly aggressive; it meddles in Germany’s domestic political issues without consideration. Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference was a highlight of such abuses. What US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this year? Munich said, sounded a little friendlier: But he was just as adamant about the matter. This should be a warning to us.
Denmark and Greenland will have sufficiently understood the signs of the times.
