Sophia Besch is an expert on European defense policy and Senior Fellow in the Europe Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. Liana Fix is ​​a historian and political scientist with a focus on German foreign policy, European Eastern European and Russian policy, and transatlantic relations – currently a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), also in Washington, DC

It’s not like Europe doesn’t care about the return of Donald Trump would have thought. When it became clear that he would stand for re-election in 2024, a debate began in all European capitals. Politicians and officials spoke about the need to prepare precisely for the scenario they are now facing. However, it usually ended here.