The 70th anniversary of the Marshall Plan
this week should be a celebration of the trans-Atlantic alliance — the
most powerful and successful in modern history. Secretary of State
George Marshall’s speech
at the Harvard commencement on June 5, 1947, set in motion the historic
U.S. aid program to revive Europe’s shattered economies. It also set
the stage for the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,
the Common Market and eventually the European Union.
Instead of celebrating, however, America and Europe are experiencing their most significant crisis in decades. President Trump’s recent visit to NATO and the EU was the least successful of any U.S. president in seven decades, exposing deep ideological divisions and a widening gulf of trust across the Atlantic.
Last weekend’s terrorist attacks in London had the same effect. Trump repeatedly criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan for telling citizens not to be alarmed by the attacks, when Khan actually said they should not be alarmed by a heavy police presence. Trump’s tweets did not go down well in stoic Britain, where the World War II maxim, “keep calm and carry on,” still holds.
Read more: Donald Trump is wrecking America's 70-year alliance with Europe
Instead of celebrating, however, America and Europe are experiencing their most significant crisis in decades. President Trump’s recent visit to NATO and the EU was the least successful of any U.S. president in seven decades, exposing deep ideological divisions and a widening gulf of trust across the Atlantic.
Last weekend’s terrorist attacks in London had the same effect. Trump repeatedly criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan for telling citizens not to be alarmed by the attacks, when Khan actually said they should not be alarmed by a heavy police presence. Trump’s tweets did not go down well in stoic Britain, where the World War II maxim, “keep calm and carry on,” still holds.
Read more: Donald Trump is wrecking America's 70-year alliance with Europe
