Nearly half of Europeans see Donald Trump as an enemy of Europe, according to a new nine-country poll. The survey, conducted for the Paris-based debate platform Le Grand Continent, also found that more than half of respondents consider the risk of war with Russia to be high, and over two-thirds believe their country could not defend itself in such a conflict.
Across the nine countries, an average of 48% view Trump as an outright foe, with the highest percentages in Belgium (62%) and France (57%), and the lowest in Croatia (37%) and Poland (19%). Jean-Yves Dormagen, a political science professor and founder of polling agency Cluster17, noted that this perception is hardening, with fewer people describing Trump as neither friend nor foe compared to December 2024.
The survey also found that 51% of respondents feel the risk of open war with Russia in the coming years is high, including 18% who consider it very high. Views varied by proximity to Russia, with 77% in Poland seeing high risk, compared to 54% in France and 34% in Italy. Confidence in national military capabilities was low, with 69% saying their country is not capable of defending itself against Russian aggression.
Despite these concerns, Europeans still view the US relationship as strategically important: 48% favoured compromise with the US government. Support for EU membership remained strong, with 74% wanting their country to stay in the bloc, and 63% believing Brexit had a negative impact on the UK.
