US President Donald Trump’s Greenland threats have turned Europeans against his country, according to one poll.
Europeans questioned say that they would be ready to use force against the US as they view their old ally as predatory.
According to a survey by geopolitical journal Le Grand Continent published today, 81 per cent of Europeans believe that military action in Greenland would constitute “an act of war against Europe”. Some 63 per cent are in favour of sending troops to the island in a defensive posture.
Slightly more than half of Europeans view Trump as an “enemy” of Europe, while for 64 per cent of respondents, US foreign policy is defined by “recolonisation” and “predation”.
These findings come after Trump U-turned on a veiled threat of military intervention in Greenland at the World Economic Forum.
The survey, conducted among citizens in France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland and Denmark, suggests his Greenland rhetoric crossed a threshold not seen in previous disputes with Washington.
While Trump softened his position, stating on January 20 that he would not use force to take Greenland, the damage to European perceptions appears deep.
Fifty-nine per cent of respondents believed that his international actions are weakening the West.
7,498 Europeans across seven EU countries were surveyed online, with samples reflecting national populations in age, gender and social category.
