A reframing of the transatlantic partnership has been in the making for a long time. For 60 years, the US-Europe relationship has been steadfast. But at the turn of the century, a rift started to emerge. Different threat analyses of Iraq\u2019s military capacities led to public disagreements between George W. Bush\u2019s administration and some European leaders. A few years later, the rise of China led to a pivot towards Asia-Pacific under Barack Obama\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n
When elected for the first time, Donald Trump viewed NATO as \u201cobsolete\u201d and the obstruction of his first G7 summit was followed by a sigh of frustration in a Bavarian beer tent that made headlines worldwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the last few days,\u201d said then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel. \u201cWe Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.\u201d (McGee and Parker 2017)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Old habits die hard. European politics moved much slower than the circumstances required. So did the European public. In eupinions surveys from 2017, the European public expressed their strong dislike of Trump. But at the same time, only 25 percent of Europeans agreed \u201cthat it is time to go our own way\u201d by the end of his first year in office. (De Vries and Hoffmann 2018)<\/p>\n The 2020 Democratic win of the White House and Joe Biden\u2019s presidency seemed to mark a return to a more cooperative approach to the transatlantic relationship. But Trump\u2019s lesson could not be unlearned. Europeans had understood that the US was in the process of redefining their engagement with the world.<\/p>\n This backdrop \u2013<\/strong> with Trump returning to the White House \u2013<\/strong> provides clarity about what to expect from the world\u2019s most powerful nation and the need for Europeans to adopt.<\/p>\n In view of the 2024 US presidential election result, we revisited previous eupinions work and expanded our usual EU-wide sample by adding a US survey. Drawing on a September 2024 survey, we examined how citizens in Europe and the United States assess their role in the world, the threats they perceive and the allies they value. In Old Habits Die Hard<\/strong><\/a>, we present evidence of overall EU and US public opinion and a breakdown of the results by location, age, education and political leaning.<\/p>\n In a nutshell, we see that 80 years of prime partnership have created a solid base of mutual appreciation and similar sensitivities. Europeans and Americans still see in the other their most valuable ally, NATO is highly regarded and cooperation trumps competition. However, eight years of American hyper-polarisation at home and mixed messaging abroad have taken their toll. In 2024, 63 percent of Europeans agree that it is time for Europe to go its own way.<\/p>\n Here is a breakdown of the survey\u2019s key findings. To access the report with all results as infographics, including member-state data and subgroups please visit www.eupinions.eu<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n