One week after the publication of the new American National Security Strategy, which has positioned the EU as an adversary, far-right and right-wing extremist groups in Europe have expressed their readiness to import the MAGA ideology to the continent and work towards dismantling the EU. Interestingly, these political factions not only claim the title of “Patriot” but are also on a trajectory to serve both American and Russian Presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Interestingly, the new US strategy doesn’t mention Russia as an enemy, leaving room to believe that Trump considers Moscow a potential partner.
Trump aims to divide Europe to exert greater control over it. He is waging a trade war that is destroying jobs in many EU member countries and has repeatedly expressed admiration for Putin. While Trump dreams of establishing an authoritarian regime in the US, Putin stands as a dictator. Both leaders are uncomfortable with European values, which have been achieved through significant struggle and sacrifice by the European people. Moreover, Trump envisions a world where wealth is generated primarily for himself, his family, and their associates. For him, maintaining business relations with Putin—who controls the most extensive territory on Earth—is more important than respecting Ukrainian sovereignty or nurturing good relations with allies.
Trump has demonstrated his intentions even before considering a return to the presidency. Members of the extremist MAGA movement have blatantly interfered in European elections, undermining their democratic integrity by openly supporting far-right candidates and parties. They backed the Alternative for Germany (AfD)—a party classified as extremist by German security services—during the last German elections, as well as a Kremlin-backed candidate for president in the 2024 presidential election and a fascist candidate in the 2025 Romanian presidential elections. They also extended their support to Marine Le Pen‘s National Rally (RN) and supported other far-right leaders, including Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary and Nigel Farage in the UK.
A document released following the new American National Security Strategy, likely originating from the MAGA movement, names four countries where the US should increase its influence by supporting “patriotic” forces to encourage their departure from the EU. These countries include Italy, where Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni leads Brothers of Italy, a party with neo-fascist origins; Austria, where the Freedom Party, a party with neo-Nazi origins, holds significant power; Hungary; and Poland, where the new President Karol Nawrocki is ultraconservative and retains excellent relations with the Polish extremist right.
Is this situation a quasi-declaration of war?
Trump relies on Putin’s friends
Notably, nearly all of these parties, except Brothers of Italy, have expressed a reluctance to support Ukraine, have refrained from condemning Russia’s invasion, and tend to align with the interests of Russian foreign policy. It is also worth noting that many of Putin’s allies are supporters of President Trump. One might anticipate that these individuals, who often describe themselves as “patriots,” would actively oppose the initiatives of the Trump administration and the MAGA movement in defence of their own nations. But no, they prefer Trump and Putin to Europe.
Two recent examples illustrate this dynamic: Marine Le Pen, the effective leader of the French National Rally, and Markus Frohnmaier, a member of the German Parliament and also the foreign policy spokesperson of the AfD’s federal parliamentary group. On 12 December, Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, a Member of the European Parliament and president of the National Rally, met with Charles Kushner, the US Ambassador to France, to discuss their party’s programme and perspectives.
“I appreciated the chance to learn from @MLP_officiel
and @J_Bardella about the RN’s economic and social agenda and their views on what lies ahead for France,” the US Ambassador posted on X.
Le Pen made similar photos with Putin, accepted loans from Russian banks, and even envisaged a defence alliance between France and Russia once the war in Ukraine ended.
Valérie Hayer, MEP and President of the liberal Renew Europe Group, highlighted in a post on X that “Trump wants to divide Europe to dominate it better. He is waging a trade war that destroys jobs in France. He denies Ukrainian sovereignty. And the RN? It supports the American president and serves as his useful idiot to destroy the European Union. One week after the publication of the new American National Security Strategy, which has made the EU an enemy, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella embraced serving the MAGA ideology. False patriots.”
Markus Frohnmaier, a German AfD MP appreciated by both the Trump administration, including its MAGA movement, and the Russian secret services, is on a visit to the US with several other AfD politicians, who have been invited to the annual MAGA Gala. In 2017, two Kremlin documents obtained by @derspiegel described him as “a parliamentarian under our absolute control.”
[On 13 December, Frohnmaier met Sarah Rogers, the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, who hectored Europeans about free speech, Markus Frohnmaier @Frohnmaier_AfD]
On X, Frohnmaier posted what he understood from this meeting.
“My exchange with Under Secretary Sarah Rogers on the new national security strategy of the Trump Administration has made it clear that Washington is seeking a strong German partner who is willing to take on responsibility. Germany should act once again as a capable leading power by making a consistent turn in migration policy and independently organising European security, in order to strengthen the German-American partnership on an equal footing. Only if we do our homework will we secure our relevance on the international stage. To shape this path together, I would like to organise a deepening event in Berlin in February 2026,” an enthusiast Frohnmaier wrote.
The day after, he called for an alliance between US and German far-right parties at the annual MAGA Gala on Saturday, where he was being honoured. “The alliance between American and German patriots is the nightmare of the liberal elites – and it is the hope of the free world,” Frohnmaier said in a speech at the gala, as Reuters reported.
However, the German MP owes a considerable part of his parliamentary career to the Russian secret services.
Russian efforts to influence German politicians, particularly those from the AfD, have been a consistent concern. Investigative research conducted by SPIEGEL, ZDF, the BBC, and “La Repubblica” has revealed a strategy document intended to destabilise EU member states while promoting Russian propaganda in advance of the 2017 federal elections. This document was dispatched on 3 April 2017 to a senior official within Putin’s administration.
The strategy outlined plans to support Markus Frohnmaier’s candidacy for the Bundestag, noting his pro-Russian positions. Russian assessments regarded his prospects as “high,” with the expectation that he would operate as “a member of parliament under their absolute control.” A former intelligence official has verified the document’s authenticity.
In conclusion, analysts who suggested the return of Trump as President would be associated with a further alliance with Russia and pro-Moscow political forces in EU member states were right. In November 2024, Czech President Petr Pavel expressed his belief that Donald Trump would strike a deal with Vladimir Putin. However, he warned that such a deal would not be in the best interests of the Czech Republic, Europe, or Ukraine.
The European Union is under multiple attacks: from the Trump administration and Russia from outside and from their proxies inside Europe, mainly the far right and extremist right parties. It is time for the European democracies to react to this permanent and acute erosion of our foundations.
