But the tide may now be turning. While left-leaning European leaders have celebrated the Democrats’ gains in the U.S. midterms, some far-right figures in Europe appear keen to succinctly separate themselves from Trump and his policies. Trump ran in 2024 on a campaign that promised to avoid dragging the U.S. into foreign wars, instead focusing on home prosperity. His war with Iran, which is now in its ninth month, has gone against that campaign pledge—a point Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, brought up in her assessment of the GOP’s midterm losses.
The commentary marked a shift in tone for a party that has often welcomed the support of the Trump Administration, both overtly and covertly. Weidel met with Vice President J.D. Vance in February 2025, just days before the German election. During that trip, Vance spoke at the Munich Security Conference and took time out of his speech to criticize what is known as the “firewall” approach in Germany—the agreement among other political parties that they will not work with the AfD. In another show of support, billionaire Elon Musk, while heading the Trump Administration’s now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), made a virtual appearance at an AfD campaign event. After the AfD won a state election in September, Trump, who has long accused European countries of holding weak immigration policies, remarked: “The populist party in Germany just had a really big night. They finally got tired of the absolutely horrible immigration rules and regulations, which have hurt Germany.”
“These kinds of transnational networks have served [the far-right] well in many ways, and it allowed them to mainstream their politics,” says Mondon, who warns that such alliances can also be limited and opportunistic. “At the end of the day, these parties are about the nation, and so they can very easily detach themselves from the failures of their counterparts elsewhere.”
“It's been clear to different persuasions of the far-right in the E.U. that association with the Trump brand, the MAGA brand, is an electoral liability,” he says. “That happened in the aftermath of Trump's Greenland pronouncements, and the aftermath of the war in Iran, and the impact that's having on cost-of-living issues, which is a key political issue.”
In 2024, Bardella said his “heart leans toward Trump,” but he has since criticized some of the President’s policies. In January, when Trump ramped up his threats to annex Greenland, Bardella urged the European Union to unite against what he referred to as “a direct challenge to the sovereignty of a European country.” AfD leadership also distanced itself from the annexation rhetoric. Meloni said Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on European allies over Greenland would be a “mistake.”
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy Prime Minister and leader of the far-right League party, said he hoped the Republicans’ midterm losses would be interpreted as a halt “to interventionism around the world.” He added: “The American result was influenced above all by the wars, international tensions and the increase in the cost of living, the consequences of which fall directly on families.”
Trump hailed far-right figure Marine Le Pen as a “conservative voice” amid the protests in France last month. Le Pen was convicted for misusing E.U. funds last year. An appeals court upheld the conviction in July, but shortened her sentence, clearing the path for her to run in the April 2027 presidential election. She is currently leading in polls ahead of the high-stakes race. When asked if he plans to endorse Le Pen, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: "Well, I don't know her, I haven't met her. But I thought she was badly treated. It would look like a weaponization to me.”
The Trump Administration has previously engaged in some of Europe’s pivotal elections. In Hungary, Viktor Orbán, who had received a strong endorsement from Trump, was joined on the campaign trail by Vice President J.D. Vance. The display of U.S. strength did little to sway the tide, as Orbán was defeated by Péter Magyar in April, bringing an end to his consequential 16-year rule—and marking the loss of a key European ally for Trump.
But will the U.S. presence be so sought after in Europe moving forward? “I think the conclusion, given the chaos, the turbulence, and incompetence of the Administration, is actually that MAGA and Trump are a liability, and if there is any association, it is better to be covert, not overt,” argues Rahman.
