Europe's far right distances itself from Trump after Republican midterm rout
Populist leaders in France, Germany, Italy and Spain are recalibrating ties to Washington while seizing on voter anger over the cost of living.
At a glance
- Far-right leaders in France, Germany, Italy and Spain distanced themselves from Trump after the Republican midterm defeat.
- Bardella blamed US attacks on Iran; Weidel said Trump broke a promise not to pursue an interventionist foreign policy.
- Analysts say the result shows voter anger over living costs topples incumbents, a lesson Europe's populists are using.
Far-right politicians across Europe moved on Wednesday to put distance between themselves and Donald Trump after a historic Republican defeat in the US midterm elections, balancing their support for his nativist agenda against the domestic cost of associating with him.
Since Trump's re-election in 2024, European populist leaders including Marine Le Pen in France and Giorgia Meloni in Italy have carefully managed their public positions towards the US president. They back his approach to hard borders, culture wars and anti-globalism, but their voters — even on the far right — dislike his personal volatility, his unpredictability on geopolitics, his unreliability on European defence and his trade protectionism. His territorial threats over Greenland and his economic nationalism have been particular problems, since no leader championing national sovereignty and domestic jobs can endorse threats against an EU member state's self-governing territory or punitive tariffs.
A lesson in voter anger
The scale of Tuesday's Republican wipeout pushed Europe's populists to distance themselves further, while drawing one clear lesson: angry, economically squeezed voters topple incumbents.
In France, Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Rally and a possible prime minister if Le Pen wins next year's presidential ballot, blamed the US attacks on Iran, saying they had carried "very heavy consequences" for world economies — without naming the president who ordered them.
In Germany, Alternative für Deutschland co-leader Alice Weidel said Trump had promised voters "not to pursue an interventionist foreign policy" and that "this broken campaign promise has now come back to haunt the Republicans". Italy's Roberto Vannacci, founder of the far-right National Future party, said the result showed the political dangers of failing to deliver on promises: "Trump failed to live up to expectations."
In Madrid, Vox leader Santiago Abascal brushed off questions about an ideological alliance, saying he was "in Spain, not in Michigan" and cared "quite little about what happens in other places".
Mujtaba Rahman of the Eurasia Group consultancy said the parties were acting for domestic advantage, hoping to keep the "ideological momentum of Trumpism" without being tarred by the "chaos and economic disruption of his presidency".
Cost of living as a playbook
For far-right parties in opposition, the midterms offer a template: public anger over rising prices and unaffordable housing can be turned into votes. Bardella has repeatedly said purchasing power and the cost of living would be the "absolute priority" of an RN government, with plans to cut VAT on electricity, gas and fuel and let employers raise wages without extra payroll charges. In Spain, Vox is pressing the same cost-of-living and housing message against Socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez ahead of elections on 29 November.
For populists already in power, notably Meloni, that is unwelcome news. She has faced waves of protest, some violent, in Rome, Milan and elsewhere over fuel costs and inflation. Her coalition partner Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, said the US vote 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". Opposition MPs noted that Trump had pledged lower prices and better jobs, and that it never happened.
Some, such as Dan Dungaciu of Romania's AUR, played down the defeat by arguing that reports of Trump's "political death" were greatly exaggerated. But the grievances driving European populism — living costs, housing, the rural-urban divide and immigration — are rooted in European conditions rather than American results. Analysts warn the bigger risk is that mainstream parties read the midterms as the populist tide receding, when what they really showed is that voter anger over the cost of living is unforgiving, whoever holds power.
Source: The Guardian World.
Questions and answers
- Why are Europe's far-right leaders distancing themselves from Donald Trump?
- They see his volatility, trade protectionism and territorial threats as an electoral liability at home, even though they support his policies on borders, culture wars and anti-globalism.
- What did the US midterm results mean for Europe's populist parties?
- They reinforced the lesson that angry, economically squeezed voters topple incumbents, and gave opposition far-right parties a playbook built around the cost of living and housing.
- Which European far-right figures reacted to the Republican defeat?
- France's Jordan Bardella, Germany's Alice Weidel, Italy's Roberto Vannacci and Spain's Santiago Abascal commented, while Italy's Giorgia Meloni faces domestic protests over fuel costs and inflation.
