The media and the political establishment like to refer to European countries as great allies of the United States. However, is that true? Most European leaders are leftists who believe in big government, climate change, open borders, and never-ending wars. All these principles were rejected by American voters in the election of President Donald Trump.

Europe has been swindling Americans for decades, as our country has provided expensive military protection, allowing them to establish lavish welfare states. Since their military funding was limited, these countries had the ability to offer extensive government programs, early retirement, minimal work weeks and other extravagances for their citizens.

Fortunately, President Trump demanded that European countries increase their military spending. At the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit last December, members “made a commitment to investing 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually” on “core” national defense by 2035. Finally, NATO countries will relieve the financial toll on the United States.

In the meantime, the United States continues to carry most of the burden for European defense. In February of 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting a war that has lasted almost four years.

By December of 2025, the European Union (EU) and their 27 member states spent $197 billion on military, humanitarian, financial and in-kind assistance for Ukraine. However, the United States alone, as of June 2025, provided Ukraine with more than $207 billion in military and humanitarian assistance and loans.

Thus, even though the war is in Europe, the United States, located 5.705 miles away, has contributed more to the defense of Ukraine than their neighboring countries combined.

Our country’s leadership in the response to the war in Ukraine is nothing new. Since 1917, the United States has been coming to the rescue of Europe. In World War I, the United States suffered 116,000 deaths, while 204,000 Americans were wounded.  In World War II, the total number of American casualties was 407,316 killed and 671,278 wounded.

The United States paid a tremendous price to save Europe and the world in both wars. After World War II was won, the United States did not abandon Europe. In fact, we funded the reconstruction of 16 European nations by paying $150 billion (today’s dollars) for the Marshall Plan.

Thereafter, during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the United States provided the military defense of Europe in the face of the communist threat. Eventually, due to the strong leadership of President Ronald Reagan and a vast United States military buildup, the Soviet Union collapsed.

With the fall of the “Evil Empire” in 1991, over 150 million people in 15 former Soviet Union republics were freed from the misery of communism. This newfound freedom was due to American leadership.

Once the Soviet Union ended, Russia did not return to communism. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin is an authoritarian leader, he is not a communist dictator like Joseph Stalin or Nikita Khrushchev.

Despite the end of the Soviet Union and their Warsaw Pact military alliance,  NATO remained and expanded to 32 nations. Not surprisingly, the United States still pays 16% of the overall budget, the largest amount of any nation in NATO.  

As of June, 2025, the United States retained 65,764 active troops in Europe, spread across 38 military bases. This military presence is maintained at great cost to American taxpayers. Our nation is protecting Europe even though the Soviet Union no longer exists and European nations are wealthy enough to provide for their own military protection.

Instead of eternal gratitude for the sacrifices of defending Europe for over a century, many European leaders are demanding the United States withdraw their troops and close their bases. These ultimatums are coming after President Trump has made it clear that he wants to “purchase” Greenland because of its importance to the security of the United States.

Currently, Greenland is an “autonomous” territory of Denmark, although it has been largely ignored for decades. President Trump is expressing a renewed interest in the region due to the importance of Greenland to our “Golden Dome” missile defense project. Trump maintains that U.S. control of Greenland will also serve as a buffer to thwart any potential Russian or Chinese military threats to our country.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has led an American delegation to discuss the issue with leaders from Denmark and Greenland. However, after initial negotiations, several European nations sent troops to Greenland. The Netherlands, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden sent troops to join an expanded military presence from Denmark in exercises that will last months.

These nations are pledging to defend Greenland from any potential military action by the United States. Thus, our cherished “allies,” the ones that we have been defending for over a century, are threatening to go to war with the United States over Greenland.

In response, Trump announced that eight NATO nations, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland, will see tariff increases of 10% by February 1 and another 15% on June 1 if they continue to oppose his efforts to purchase Greenland.

The President said the tariffs will remain in place “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said any U.S. intervention in Greenland would be a “disaster.” He said, “an attempt to take over the territory of a country that is a NATO member, by another NATO member state…that would be the end of the world as we know it, which has guaranteed our security for decades.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that if the U.S. attempted to seize Greenland, it would mean “the end of NATO.” She said that all NATO nations would have to come to Greenland’s defense against the United States in case of an attack.

If this relationship ends, it will harm Europe much more than the United States, which has been carrying most of the burden for more than a century. 

Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America’s Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-9 a.m. & 6-7 p.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America’s Last Chance, and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and at Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com