If you thought transatlantic relations were getting tense, buckle up. France's junior army minister delivered a blistering critique of Washington's new security doctrine Tuesday, right as President Donald Trump was separately telling reporters that European leaders are "weak" and the continent doesn't know what it's doing.

Europe Needs to Wake Up

Alice Rufo didn't mince words when addressing French lawmakers about the U.S. National Security Strategy unveiled last week. "The new American security strategy is an extremely brutal clarification of the United States' ideological posture," she said, calling it a shock to the system that demands Europe accelerate rearmament if it wants any credibility on the world stage.

"We live in a world of carnivores, Europe is no island, and Europe will be respected only if it knows how to make itself respected," Rufo warned.

The strategy document has rattled Western capitals with language warning that Europe faces "civilisation erasure" and pledging to "cultivate resistance" inside the European Union itself. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged the document shows exactly why Europe needs greater military independence from the United States, even while trying to maintain transatlantic partnerships.

Russia Reset on the Table

The Trump administration's first national security strategy since returning to office marks a sharp departure from President Joe Biden's approach. Rather than treating Moscow as a pariah, the new doctrine identifies ending the nearly four-year war as a "vital" U.S. interest and explicitly seeks to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia."

Trump Goes After European Leadership

Trump ramped up his criticism in a Politico interview, describing Europe as "a decaying group of nations led by weak people" while blasting the continent's immigration policies.

"I think they're weak," he said of Europe's leaders. "But I also think that they want to be so politically correct." He continued, "I think they don't know what to do. Europe doesn't know what to do."

Trump also said he'll keep backing his favored candidates in European elections regardless of whether that irritates local voters. His focus, he claims, has shifted more toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine than electoral politics. He mentioned offering a new peace-plan draft that apparently some Ukrainian officials appreciate, though President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hasn't reviewed it yet. "It would be nice if he would read it," Trump remarked.