Martin Wolf

So whether they were naive or not, very interesting question, it's all come as a colossal shock.

Now, Trump won was when the first administration of Trump was...

A wake-up call, but in the end, it wasn't so bad.

They felt, oh, well, full of sound and fury, but didn't signify that much.

In the end, he didn't do much.

He didn't change trade policy, didn't withdraw from NATO.

He filled his administration with the sort of people we're familiar with, we like and trust, those sorts of Americans.

This is a shock.

I don't think it should have been a shock, but this is a shock.

And in the first year, when suddenly your trusted spouse, as it were, and that's very much the relationship, turns around and becomes a violent bully, you're sort of in shock.

But worse, you don't know where to go and live.

Who's your alternative?

Do you want to become friendly with China?

Not really.

Do you want to become friendly with Putin?

Absolutely not.

And are we strong enough to survive on our own in all these different dimensions?

Of course not.

The vulnerability of Europe is staggering.

Just think what would happen if the American administration decided, if it could decide that, to just close off our access to the American digital stack, as it were.