Trump ‘right to be outraged’ by Europe’s betrayal on Iran, says former Thatcher advisor

As President Donald Trump continues to definitive anger astatine NATO European friends for their deficiency of thief successful nan warfare pinch Iran, he’s making clear their behaviour comes astatine a cost.

In nan weeks during nan warfare and since nan ceasefire, nan president has deed backmost not conscionable pinch words but pinch definitive actions against respective of those countries.

Germany

On Saturday, Trump said that he would retreat much than nan first 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany arsenic stated by nan Pentagon, aft Berlin’s leader denigrated nan American effort to extremity Iran’s authorities from building a atomic weapon.

TRUMP WEIGHS PULLING US TROOPS FROM GERMANY AMID CLASH WITH CHANCELLOR OVER IRAN WAR

President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met successful nan Oval Office astatine nan White House successful Washington, D.C., connected March 3, 2026, to talk issues including caller U.S. and Israeli strikes connected Iran. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A time earlier he said astir Germany that "We're gonna trim measurement down. We're cutting a batch further than 5,000." The Trump management antecedently announced a contraction of 5,000 troops in Germany aft nan country’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran’s authorities "humiliated" Trump.

In an evident authorities of panic, Merz walked backmost his onslaught connected Trump and his Iran strategy connected Sunday. The chancellor wrote connected X: "The United States is and will stay Germany‘s astir important partner successful nan North Atlantic Alliance. We stock a communal goal: Iran must not beryllium allowed to get atomic weapons."

Trump ratcheted up his unit simplification number against Germany amid his comments astir downsizing U.S. boots connected nan crushed successful Spain and Italy because they grounded to assistance America successful nan warfare against Iran. The president’s anger astatine Western European countries has been simmering for weeks and could lead to profound changes successful nan North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

TRUMP CRITICIZES SPAIN AMID IRAN, NATO RIFT AS PM SANCHEZ FACES QUESTIONS OVER POLITICAL MOTIVES

Nile Gardiner, nan head of nan Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom astatine The Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital, "The deficiency of support for nan United States has been thing little than treacherous. I deliberation nan president has nan correct to beryllium outraged by nan deficiency of support from cardinal European allies."

An Iranian emblem is planted successful nan rubble of a constabulary station, damaged successful airstrikes connected March 3, 2026 successful Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

He said, "There is simply a very deep-seated taste appeasement successful Europe towards nan Iranian authorities that goes backmost galore decades, and a flat-out refusal to judge nan reality of nan immense dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran. European leaders are sleepwalking toward demolition pinch this perilous way they person taken.

TRUMP IS RIGHT ABOUT NATO’S WEAKNESS — THE REAL QUESTION IS HOW DOES AMERICA FIX IT

"The deficiency of support for nan United States is really acold Europe has gone toward losing its civilized compass. Iran is simply a genocidal authorities that threatens to swipe Israel disconnected nan map." He noted that nan Islamic Republic has killed immense numbers of its population.

Gardiner, a erstwhile advisor to Lady Thatcher said, "If you perceive to European leaders, it's arsenic if nan U.S. is nan villain here."

Merz, speaking past week successful Marsberg, criticized nan U.S. attack to Iran, saying Washington was being "humiliated by nan Iranian leadership" and expressing dream nan conflict would extremity "as quickly arsenic possible."

Gardiner said of Merz’s remarks that, "comments for illustration these really thief nan propaganda of nan Iranian dictatorship. It is astonishing that a German chancellor would make these kinds of remarks astatine a clip of war…and nan German chancellor is giving comfortableness to nan Iranian regime. It is disgusting."

Numerous Fox News Digital property queries sent to Merz’s spokesperson Stefan Kornelius were not returned.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called nan U.S. conflict pinch Iran "reckless" and "unjust." (Yves Herman/Reuters)

Spain and Italy

Before his announcement connected nan unit withdrawal from Germany, and successful consequence to a mobility astir reducing U.S. troops successful Spain and Italy, Trump responded, "I mean, they haven't been precisely connected board.  Yeah, probably. Yeah, I astir apt will… Italy has not been of immoderate thief to us. And Spain has been horrible. Absolutely horrible."

Spain’s socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez has taken a belligerent guidelines against nan U.S. and Israeli subject run against nan Iranian regime, forbidding nan U.S. from using its subject bases successful Spain to refuel craft aliases hole for subject action. He has decried nan run arsenic forbidden while staying quiet connected nan regime’s execution of thousands of protesters and its accrued thrust to nutrient ballistic missiles and get atomic weapons-grade enriched uranium.

Gardiner said, "The Spanish have been nan worst by a agelong way. At slightest nan Germans and Italy person allowed nan usage of its ain bases. The Spanish person refused to cooperate successful immoderate measurement pinch nan war."

Trump told nan Italian regular Corriere della Sera past period astir nan country's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that "I'm shocked astatine her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong."

The Europe expert, Gardiner, sees a wide gulf betwixt really chiefly Western European countries and nan United States position nan preservation of Western civilization, freedom, populist and liberty.

French President Emmanuel Macron listens to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a moving convention pinch world leaders astatine nan G7 acme successful Borgo Egnazia, Italy, connected June 13, 2024. (Andrew Medichini/AP)

"Europe has mislaid some its expertise and its will to fight. The United States is intelligibly consenting to conflict to take sides Western civilization and nan free world. Much of Europe has fixed up connected this, particularly Western Europe. It is an appeasement mindset cojoined pinch weakness and pacifism and besides a increasing acceptance by European leaders of wide migration and Islamification."

He added, "Europe has fundamentally changed complete nan past 20 years beyond recognition, and yet Europe’s ruling elites judge it seemingly arsenic a fact, pinch immoderate notable exceptions."

France and nan UK

Trump took nan United Kingdom and France successful March to task for their postioning connected nan warfare against Iran.

"The Country of France wouldn’t fto planes headed to Israel, loaded up pinch subject supplies, alert complete French territory," Trump wrote connected Truth Social.

"France has been VERY UNHELPFUL pinch respect to nan ‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated! The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!," he wrote.

France's President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer astatine nan Elysee Presidential Palace successful Paris connected Feb. 17, 2025, earlier an informal acme of European leaders to talk nan business successful Ukraine and European security. (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump besides wrote, "All of those countries that can’t get pitchy substance because of nan Strait of Hormuz, for illustration nan United Kingdom, which refused to get progressive successful nan decapitation of Iran, I person a proposal for you."

"Number 1, bargain from nan U.S., we person plenty, and Number 2, build up immoderate delayed courage, spell to nan Strait, and conscionable TAKE IT."

"You’ll person to commencement learning really to conflict for yourself, nan U.S.A. won’t beryllium location to thief you anymore, conscionable for illustration you weren’t location for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The difficult portion is done. Go get your ain oil!"

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Gardiner said nan situation complete nan Iran warfare shows that Europe has surrendered. The large Western Europeans person embraced "defeatism," and "they do not care. It is arsenic elemental arsenic that. And early generations will person to salary nan value for nan people Europe is taking now," he said.

Fox News' Brittany Miller and Solly Boussidan contributed to this report.