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U.S. President Donald Trump denounced European leaders as "weak" and warned that many countries on the continent "will not be viable" if current immigration policies continue, delivering his sharpest criticism of traditional U.S. allies to date in an interview with Politico.
"I think they're weak," Trump said of Europe's political leaders, adding, "But I also think that they want to be so politically correct."
"I think they don't know what to do," he added, noting, "Europe doesn't know what to do."
Trump said European nations risk losing their viability as functioning states due to unchecked migration.
"And if it keeps going the way it's going, Europe will not be... in my opinion, uh, many of those countries will not be viable countries any longer. Their immigration policy is a disaster. What they're doing with immigration is a disaster," Trump said.
The president contrasted Europe's approach with his own border policies.
"We had a disaster coming, but I was able to stop it. You know, we have had no people coming through our borders now, zero, for seven months. I mean, who would believe zero? We went from millions of people—in some cases, millions of people a month—to no people," Trump said.
"Europe, they're coming in from all parts of the world. Not just the Middle East; they're coming in from the Congo—tremendous numbers of people coming from the Congo. And even worse, they're coming from prisons of the Congo and many other countries," Trump said.
"And for some reason, they want to be politically correct, which actually, I think, is the opposite of politically correct. But they want to be politically correct, and they don't want to send 'em back to where they came from," he added.
Trump singled out specific cities and leaders for criticism.
"If you take a look at Paris, it's a much different place. I loved Paris. Uh, it's a much different place than it was. If you take a look at London, you have a mayor named Khan. He's a horrible mayor. He's an incompetent mayor, but he's a horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor. I think he's done a terrible job. London's a different place. I love London. I love London. And I hate to see it happen. You know, my roots are in Europe, as you know," Trump said.
"And ... and I hate to see that happen. This is one of the great places in the world, and they're allowing people just to come in and ... unchecked, unvetted," he added.
Trump pointed to Sweden and Germany as examples of deteriorating conditions.
"I'm not knocking Sweden. I love Sweden. I love the people of Sweden. But they go from a crime-free country to a country that has a lot of crime now. Look at Germany. Germany was crime-free, and Angela made two big mistakes: immigration and energy. But those two are beauties," Trump said.
Trump spoke with Politico's Dasha Burns at the White House on Monday for a special episode of The Conversation. Asked which country holds the stronger negotiating position in the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump was unequivocal.
"Well, there can be no question about it. It's Russia. It's a much bigger country," Trump said, noting, "It's a war that should've never happened. Frankly, it wouldn't have happened if I were president, and it didn't happen for four years."
The president pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage with the latest peace proposal.
"It would be nice if he would read it. You know, a lot of people are dying. So it would be really good if he'd read it. His people loved the proposal. They really liked it. His lieutenants, his top people, they liked it, but they said he hadn't read it yet. I think he should find time to read it," Trump said.
Trump suggested Ukraine should hold elections despite wartime restrictions.
"Yeah. I think so. It's been a long time," Trump said.
"They're using war not to hold an election, but, uh, I would think the Ukrainian people would ... should have that choice. And maybe Zelenskyy would win. I don't know who would win. But they haven't had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it's not a democracy anymore," he added.
Asked whether the U.S. might walk away from Ukraine following comments by Donald Trump Jr., the president responded, "No, it's not correct. But it's not exactly wrong. We have to ... you know, they have to play ball."
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Trump credited Ukrainian forces while emphasizing the disparity in size.
"I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the, you know, bravery and for the fighting and all of that. But you know, at some point, size will win, generally. And this is a massive size, uh ... you ... when you take a look at the numbers, I mean, the numbers are just crazy," Trump said.
Asked whether Ukraine has lost the war, Trump pointed to territorial losses.
"Well, they'd lost territory long before I got here. They lost a whole strip of seafront, big seafront," Trump said. "You certainly wouldn't say it's a victory. I could show you a chart. It's uh ... it's a lot of land they lost."
Trump noted Ukraine "lost 27,000 soldiers" last month and described the conflict as "Joe Biden's war."
He characterized European leaders as ineffective on the Ukraine issue.
"They talk too much," Trump said, adding, "And they're not producing. We're talking about Ukraine. They talk, but they don't produce. And the war just keeps going on and on. I mean, four years now it's been going on, long before I got here. This is not my war. This is Joe Biden's war."
Trump described the personal animosity between Putin and Zelenskyy as complicating negotiations.
"But Putin has ... had no respect for Biden, and he had no respect for Zelenskyy, didn't like Zelenskyy. They really hate each other. And part of the problem is they hate each other really a lot, you know. And it's very hard for them to try and make a deal. It's harder than most," Trump said.
Asked about a Kremlin spokesperson calling the new U.S. national security strategy a "positive step" consistent with "Moscow's vision," Trump deflected responsibility.
"Well, I think he'd like to see a ... a weak Europe, and, uh, so you know, to be honest with you, uh, he's getting that. That has nothing to do with me," Trump said.
Trump denied having a specific vision for reshaping Europe.
"I have no vision for Europe. All I want to see is a strong Europe. Look, I have a vision for the United States of America first. It's 'Make America Great Again,'" Trump said.
"I think it's horrible what's happening to Europe. I think it's endangering Europe as we know it. Europe could be a whole different place," he noted.
"And I think the European people should do something about it," he added.
Asked whether he might endorse candidates in European elections, Trump said, "I want to run the United States. I don't want to run Europe. I'm involved in Europe very much."
"NATO calls me Daddy. I mean, I have a lot to say about it. Look, I raised, you know, GDP from 2% to 5%; the 2% they weren't paying and the 5% they are paying," Trump said, adding, "But, uh, Europe is being destroyed."
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas dismissed the U.S. national security strategy's attacks on Europe during an address to the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee in Brussels.
"You read all of this, and you know that these things are not true about Europe. It seems to me that this is a provocation designed to get us to react, perhaps aimed at attracting attention," Kallas said.
Kallas asserted the EU possesses the economic strength to influence the war's outcome.
"Europe has the economic power to end this war, and power only works when it is used. Therefore, the EU should work on the compensation loan, and we should also impose more sanctions on Russia," Kallas said.
She noted that according to the International Monetary Fund, Ukraine needs €135 billion ($157 billion) for 2026 and 2027. The European Commission has proposed financing this through various means, including a compensation loan using frozen Russian assets for Kyiv.
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