Trump tamed after US midterms? Europe doubts it

President Donald Trump may be facing a political pounding at the US midterm elections next month — but in Europe expectations are low that a big Democrat win would change much. From the battlefields of Ukraine to the boardrooms of Europe, Trump has sent multiple shockwaves across the continent since returning to power last year. During a head-spinning 22 months, the mercurial leader has turned spectacularly on Kyiv, imposed tariffs on allies and threatened to take Greenland. Ahead of the November 3 polls, it looks like American voters could punish Trump’s Republican party and hand control of one or both of the US House of Representatives or Senate to the Democrats. But while the hope may be that Trump could be reined in by a hostile Congress, multiple officials at the EU and NATO told AFP they doubt a big loss would muzzle him on the international stage.

“We don’t think the unpredictability is going to change,” said one senior EU diplomat. Publicly the European Union is keeping its cards close to its chest. “We will not comment on any elections in the EU or abroad. Let’s wait for those and we’ll see where it goes,” said European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho. Behind closed doors as well, officials say that the midterms are not featuring much in the bloc’s internal discussions. “I suspect because a) it is difficult to really predict the result, b) one wouldn’t want to get too high hopes for change and c) not sure how much even a Democratic wave would impact foreign policy issues,” said a second senior EU diplomat. Ukraine, tariffs Ahead of the midterms, Trump has rattled Europe by yet again lashing out at Ukraine and cosying up to Russia as Washington has renewed its push to end the fighting. While a Democrat win could usher in a more vocal pro-Kyiv majority in…