The once close relationship between the United States' MAGA (Make America Great Again) camp and Europe's far-right political forces is wobbling. U.S. President Donald Trump's so-called "Greenland ambition" is provoking backlash across Europe.
The Associated Press said on the 25th (local time) that "tensions over President Trump's plan to seize Greenland have driven a wedge into the once-solid relationship between the MAGA camp and Europe's far right."
President Trump signaled his intent to take Greenland and publicly raised the possibility of military action against Europe, including Denmark, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally. In the process, even leaders of far-right parties in European countries such as Germany and Italy have openly criticized Trump.
Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party and a longtime ally of Trump, also recently called the demand for Greenland "a very hostile act."
At a European Parliament debate on the 20th, when the "Greenland crisis" peaked, several lawmakers from far-right parties took issue with Trump's pressure. They voted to suspend implementation of the European Union (EU)-U.S. trade agreement, pushing back against U.S. coercion and threats to sovereignty.
AP noted that "such a large divergence between President Trump and his followers in Europe is somewhat unexpected."
Europe's far-right parties drew attention across the continent around 2024. The MAGA camp, Trump's core support base, has also backed the expansion of far-right political forces in Europe.
In fact, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) received support during the February general election last year from Elon Musk, the Tesla chief executive officer (CEO) and a former close associate of Trump. U.S. government figures, including Vice President JD Vance, publicly criticized the so-called "firewall" principle of Germany's mainstream parties to shun cooperation with AfD and the German intelligence agency's monitoring of AfD's extremist activities.
However, Trump's recent foreign policy line—signaling the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, attempting to annex Greenland, and suggesting military involvement in Iran—has stirred resentment even within the MAGA camp. That said, some far-right politicians in Eastern European countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic remain cautious about openly criticizing the United States.
Daniel Hegedüs, director for Central Europe at the German Marshall Fund (GMF) think tank, said, "If President Trump sticks to that approach and threatens European sovereign states, it will naturally split Europe's radical right," adding, "It's unclear whether the split will persist or whether they will regroup around issues on which they can cooperate."