No, Europe won't be ready for Trump 2.0 either

GERMAN Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says Europe is better prepared for a second Donald Trump presidency than it was for the “total shock” of the first. If only that were true. The reality is that nobody except the former US president and his supporters will be ready for round two, if it comes.

Baerbock is from Germany’s Green Party and a liberal by any standard, so she had exactly the right instincts on her US visit. Rather than stay in her comfort zone, visiting more or less like-minded Democrats and Biden administration officials, she entered the lion’s den of MAGA – Make America Great Again, Trump’s former slogan – in Texas, meeting Governor Greg Abbott, among others.

It’s hard to picture that conversation. Abbott has supported the banning of abortion and same-sex marriage, opposed any gun control, and promoted investment in fossil fuels over renewables. He’s also against the Biden administration’s “blank cheque” policy of funding Ukraine’s defence, which Abbott says is coming at the expense of domestic needs.