What does the US State Department’s criticism of Europe mean?

A striking critique of Europe from the US State Department: Who are human rights and freedom of expression targeting this time?

An article targeting European politics through the lens of US bilateral relations was published on the official website of the US Department of State.

The article, penned by Samuel Samson, Senior Advisor at the Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), is a quintessential piece illustrating how the era, potentially inaugurated by Donald Trump’s re-election as President, is reshaping the U.S. official institutions’ view of Europe.

In his article, Samson states that the relationship between the US and Europe is not merely about geographical proximity or mutual interests. He argues that this bond is nurtured by shared culture, faith, family ties, and especially the heritage of Western civilization, and that this relationship is “reinforced by a tradition of mutual assistance in troubled times.”

‘America is grateful to Europe’

Samson traces the origins of the Transatlantic alliance, which he says is “strengthened by traditions unique to the West,” back to Athens and Rome, and states that America “is grateful to Europe”:

“The revolutionary statement in the Declaration of Independence that ‘all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights’ reflects the ideas of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and other European thinkers. These ideas are based on the principle that people’s natural rights cannot be subjected to the arbitrary decisions of any government. America is grateful to Europe for this intellectual and cultural heritage.”

Samson believes that even when disagreements arise, this ‘bond’ allows for dialogue between America and Europe. However, according to Samson—that is, Trump’s America—this bond has been damaged. The article’s reference to the controversial speech delivered by US Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2025, regarding this concern, is noteworthy.

Apparently, the Trump administration’s mouthpieces see Vance’s Munich speech as a ‘turning point,’ much like Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s speech at the 43rd Munich Security Conference (February 10, 2007).

Putin’s historic speech, considered a turning point, in which he sharply criticized the unipolar world order, NATO expansion, and Western interventionist policies, and Vance’s controversial speech themed “the real danger is within us”…

Samson, too, directly quotes the following sentence from Vance’s speech in his article:

“My real concern is internal threats. Europe’s retreat from its most fundamental values, shared with the US.”

Samson also, referencing Francis Fukuyama’s ‘end of history’ thesis, believes that the new order Europe established with supranational structures after two major world wars ‘to avoid further catastrophes’ has ‘turned into a wreck’:

“Today, however, this promise lies in ruins. It has been replaced by an aggressive campaign waged against Western civilization. Across Europe, governments have turned political institutions into weapons against their own citizens and our common heritage. Instead of strengthening democratic principles, Europe has become a hub for digital censorship, mass migration, restrictions on religious freedom, and many other threats that undermine democratic self-governance.”

As examples of Europe’s deviation from ‘Western civilization,’ Samson points to ‘the arrest of over 12,000 British citizens in the UK for opposing abortion or making ‘critical online comments’ about the migration crisis,’ the designation of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as ‘extremist’ by German intelligence, and the obstruction of political parties (referring to right-wing parties) in Poland and Romania. Describing an ‘atmosphere of oppression’ in Europe, Samson believes this negatively affects electoral processes on the continent.

‘An Orwellian surveillance tool’

Samson stated that the European Union’s Digital Services Act, though presented as a measure to protect children from harmful content, has actually turned into an Orwellian surveillance tool used to silence dissenting voices. He added that independent regulatory bodies are monitoring social media companies, including X (formerly Twitter), and threatening them with massive fines.

Samson’s solution to all the problems he describes is ‘the revival of our common global heritage’:

“Our hope is that Europe and the United States will recommit to their Western heritage and that European governments will cease to use the state as a weapon against those who defend this heritage. We may not always agree on scope and tactics, but concrete steps by European governments to protect political and religious expression, secure borders, and guarantee fair elections would be welcome developments. Our relationship is too important, our history too precious, and the international risks too great. We cannot allow this partnership to falter. Therefore, on both sides of the Atlantic, we must preserve the values of our common culture and ensure that Western civilization endures for generations as a source of virtue, freedom, and human flourishing.”

What do Samson’s theses mean?

The article, shaped around the idea that the US needs ‘civilizational alliances’ in Europe, elaborates on the notion that the US-Europe relationship ‘cannot be explained solely by geographical proximity and mutual interests,’ but is shaped by ‘shared culture, faith, family ties, and the common heritage of Western civilization.’

This emphasis on historicity in US-Europe relations is based not only on strategic cooperation but also on the thesis of ‘a legal and cultural kinship spanning thousands of years.’

The contemporary political reflection of Samson’s narrative is the rising right in Europe, or, in one of the right’s popular phrases, ‘despised conservatism’. Samson describes the ‘right-wing’ and ‘Christian-conservative’ segments in Europe as ‘the fundamental defenders of civilization’ and laments that ‘Christian nations’ are unfairly branded as authoritarian and violators of human rights.

In other words, according to Samson, Christianity is a form of identity that must be embraced in Europe today.

Furthermore, according to Samson, the rising right-wing movements in Europe are political currents that have undertaken the mission of protecting Western civilization and possess a Christian identity.

The enemy, then, is roughly all parties ranging from the liberal center or center-left to the center-right. According to Samson, these are the parties that are ‘de-civilizing, alienating Europe from its values, and corrupting’ it.

The values championed by the Trump administration in the US under the main banner of ‘conservatism’ were/are welcomed by segments and even governments uncomfortable with the conceptual framework of the Democratic Party’s America.

So much so that the dismantling of USAID was met with great enthusiasm by some ‘anti-American’ circles.

The Trump administration’s particularly anti-LGBTQI+, Christian faith-based, and traditionalist rhetoric garnered widespread sympathy in countries known for their anti-American stance in Europe, especially Russia.

So, what was really happening?

As an imperialist superpower, the ideology implemented and exported by the US during the Democratic Party (Joe Biden) era was shaped by sexual/ethnic identity politics, emphasizing concepts like social justice and equality—in the broadest terms, ‘woke’ ideology.

This ideology, often labeled ‘radical left/Marxist’ by ‘Trumpism,’ serves a function that does not conflict with the capitalist order, is highly compatible with neoliberal market mechanisms, and overshadows class struggle by deepening identity-based divisions.

‘Recalibrating the course…’

The Trump administration, however, after coming to power, rolled up its sleeves not to dismantle the existing order but to rebuild it within a more conservative and nationalist framework. In other words, we are facing a course change that, at its core, still targets US geopolitical interests, with different concepts coming to the fore as the focus shifts.

The most acute effects of this transformation in US politics are naturally being felt in Europe. This article, penned by Samson from a classic Trumpist perspective, is precisely an expression of the tension between Trumpism and the European politics shaped by the Democrats.

Samson’s description is very likely to find supporters in Europe. This is because, in a political climate where leftist demands for security, stability, and welfare have been systematically suppressed for many years, right-wing alternatives have been strengthened. This has served to build a new kind of right-wing nationalist hegemony, especially in anti-Western countries. A striking example of this is the Romanian right, which until a few months ago filled squares with anti-US slogans, now filling the streets with US flags in alignment with Trump.

US imperialism has thus developed a method capable of confining ‘EU-skeptic’ and ‘anti-Western’ forces in Europe—even in an ‘enemy’ country like Russia—within its own ideological framework. All European countries where the right is on the rise or in power and where various levels of ‘anti-Western’ politics exist in their political life—such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, Serbia, and Romania—are nowadays applauding Trump for ‘saving the world from homosexuality.’

At the end of his article, Samson says, “The United States is determined to build a strong partnership with Europe and to work together towards common foreign policy goals,” and with the statement, “We cannot allow this partnership to falter,” he is, in a sense, issuing a veiled threat.

The US emphasis on ‘working together to solve problems’ is always followed by regime change operations. In Europe, policies aligned with Trump’s America have already achieved significant success.

Concepts such as human rights, civil liberties, and freedom of expression have been used by Democrats and European elites against Russia, especially since 2022. It is clear that these same concepts will this time be part of the Trump administration’s official narrative to describe the grievances of new conservatism and rising right-wing movements.