Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has stated that the era of appeasing U.S. President Donald Trump “is over,” signaling that Europe should now respond with greater resolve to Washington’s recent actions.
Speaking to the BBC, Rasmussen—who also served as Prime Minister of Denmark—said that if Trump proceeds with additional tariffs on eight European countries, Europe should respond with retaliatory trade measures. According to Rasmussen, Trump “respects only strength and force,” making a firm response necessary.
Rasmussen warned that NATO’s cohesion could be seriously threatened if Trump were to act on his repeated statements about taking control of Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and covered by NATO’s collective defense framework.
“NATO would not survive if Trump carried out such a threat,” Rasmussen said, emphasizing that any attempt by one NATO ally to challenge the territory of another would represent an unprecedented crisis for the Alliance.
He concluded by stressing that Europe must no longer rely on conciliatory rhetoric, adding: “The time has come to stand up to Trump.”
Rasmussen’s remarks come amid growing tensions between the United States and its European allies over trade, security commitments, and Arctic geopolitics, raising broader questions about the future of transatlantic relations.
