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European elites are caught in a dangerous cycle of self-fulfilling prophecy. They claim U.S. President Donald Trump is abandoning NATO and Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. In doing so, they actively undermine the authority necessary for effective execution of his central foreign policy promise: to bring Russia and Ukraine to the table and end the war. Worse still, they risk pushing the United States further away from Europe, putting the entire security architecture of Europe in danger. This dysfunction is more than counterproductive; it is a dereliction of leadership at a moment when global stability demands serious strategy and leaders truly equipped and positioned to deliver a real change.
The latest diplomatic spat between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sent European leaders into a predictable frenzy of performative outrage. After Friday's tense Oval Office exchange, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas declared that "the free world needs a new leader," suggesting that Europe should step up. A number of European figures, from French President Emmanuel Macron to soon-to-be German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Poland's Donald Tusk, eagerly lined up behind Zelensky—not to craft a pragmatic strategy, but to broadcast their moral superiority. German media suggested that European countries reconsider military equipment procurement plans and redirect their focus from the U.S. to German and French industry.
Yet European elites' claims of U.S. betrayal are detached from reality. Trump has made it clear that his priority is not to perpetuate an open-ended military commitment but to secure a lasting peace deal—one that includes Russia but does not capitulate to it. One that requires Europeans to carry their own weight, investing more in their own defense and deterrence capabilities, not apart from NATO but within its well-functioning framework. Trump's willingness to explore economic incentives, such as granting U.S. companies access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals, signals a strategy that prioritizes both security and economic leverage. His insistence that peace must precede security guarantees for Ukraine is not isolationism; it is realism.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's push for a European-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine, with a U.S. "backstop," may very well work—especially if the American stronghold in Poland is significantly bolstered with armament stocks, a larger troop presence, and additional anti-missile systems and fighter jets. For such a peacekeeping mission to be a credible deterrent, it would require further procurements from the U.S. But above all, such a mission can only be considered after peace is secured, and again, that is only possible with Trump at helm.
The failures of the Normandy Format and the Minsk agreements proved the impossibility of conducting a peacekeeping mission without the U.S. Good will and strong declarations are not sufficient. It takes the sword to back the peace. No European military, not even the EU collectively, possesses the deterrent force necessary to hold back Moscow, which is now backed by a broader axis of evil. The belief that 30,000 European troops could stabilize Ukraine without U.S. involvement is wishful thinking at best and reckless at worst.
With this in mind, this cycle of anti-American outburst has created a dangerous illusion for Zelensky. European leaders, eager to signal their support, have given him a false sense of security. The verbal reassurances and symbolic gestures he has received in the wake of the Oval Office spat may give the impression that Europe is ready to provide tangible security guarantees. But Europe does not have the military capability, unity, or political will to provide such backing without the U.S. Zelensky, misled by these empty promises, risks holding out for European support that will never come, wasting valuable time that could be spent on real negotiations.
European leaders also refuse to confront the reality that their own political fragility undermines any claim to global leadership. Starmer, Macron, and Germany's political class preside over electorates increasingly skeptical of interventionist foreign policy. The same goes for Donald Tusk, who now governs a deeply divided Poland weakened by political infighting, resorting to censoring media and jailing opposition leaders to maintain control. Meanwhile, the EU remains incapable of fielding a unified military force, paralyzed by internal disputes over security policy.
If there is one European leader who has understood the stakes from the beginning, it is Polish President Andrzej Duda. Since taking office in 2015, Duda has pursued a policy of strengthening Poland's military, attaining energy independence from Russia, and deepening strategic ties with Washington. Under his leadership, Poland has become NATO's front-line bulwark in Eastern Europe, expanding its own deterrence capabilities while ensuring it is not held hostage by Russian energy blackmail. With Duda at the helm, Poland has been at the forefront of supporting Ukraine since day one of Russia's aggression.
Most importantly, Duda has worked in lockstep with Trump, recognizing that real deterrence requires more than symbolic gestures. During his two terms Poland's defense spending has skyrocketed to almost 5 percent of GDP—today leading by example in Europe. Rather than indulging delusions of European autonomy, Poland has solidified its partnership with the U.S., hosting American troops, covering its costs based on a unique Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and advocating for NATO's reinforcement on its eastern flank. Unlike his Western European counterparts, who waver between moral grandstanding and strategic confusion, Duda has taken the only approach that actually strengthens European security: full alignment with American leadership. It's no wonder he was the first European leader to have the opportunity to meet President Trump in the U.S. and discuss with him the recent developments and security of Europe. President Duda also received a huge shout-out during the main speech President Trump gave at the Conservative Political Action Conference last month.
Western leaders must decide whether they are serious about ending the war in Ukraine or whether they are content to let it drag on indefinitely while they engage in diplomatic theater. The reality is simple: neither any single European country nor the EU as a whole can replace the United States as the sword of the free world. Pushing America out of Europe is a disastrous strategy that would lead directly to another catastrophe.
Instead of fueling this self-defeating prophecy, European leaders must recognize reality: they need Trump, not the other way around. They must find a way to reengage with him, put aside their political grudges, and trust in his strategy. Whether they like it or not, he is the only individual in today's world both equipped and positioned to deliver a resolution to the war in Ukraine.
That means supporting negotiations that can actually bring an end to the war, rather than sabotaging them out of fear that a deal would expose their past missteps. Trump alone has the political capital, strategic vision, and negotiating power to bring about a settlement that does not simply extend the war on indefinite Western life support.
Western leaders must recognize this reality before it is too late. Europe cannot afford another decade of miscalculation. The world needs lasting peace—now. And only Trump can deliver it.
Dr. Nikodem Rachoń is Undersecretary of State and Deputy Head of the International Policy Bureau at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
