Steve Bannon Wants to Divide and Conquer in Europe Too

As European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker heads to Washington to try to prevent a full-scale trade war, Europeans should expect him to be treated like a U.S. adversary. In President Donald Trump’s worldview, a strong European Union is not in U.S. interests. His former chief strategist Steve Bannon’s recent activity aimed at weakening the EU is further proof of that.

Juncker will caution Trump against slapping a punitive tariff on European cars, but he’s not bringing a specific offer to Washington: His goal is merely to maintain a dialogue, something European national leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have not been successful at. Ever since Trump came to power, he’s been trying to negotiate on trade with specific EU members, appearing not to listen to their protestations that trade is an EU, not nation-state, competence. To Trump, the EU is an obstacle, an intermediary to be weakened and dispatched.