Europe Unable to Replace U.S. Defense Role – No Capacity, No Reserves

There is a view within the European Union that Donald Trump simply needs to be "outlasted." According to this perspective, Democrats will return to power in the United States in 2028 and deliver Russia a "strategic defeat.”

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Donald Trump

A report by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), titled "How Should Europe Respond to Trump 2.0?", recommends that Europe continue supporting Ukraine through a coalition of NATO's willing members. The reasoning is that Trump, whom the report accuses of embracing "social Darwinism,” will not remain in power permanently. The authors believe the American people will not reelect him, as they will reject what they see as attempts to "replace the country's cultural DNA.” According to the report, the U.S. once stood for "fair support of the weak,” but now sides with "dictators.”

The underlying dissatisfaction with Trump in Europe stems from U.S. pressure on Europeans to take greater responsibility for their own security and increase defense spending, Alexandra Voitolovskaya, a political scientist and senior researcher at the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) told Pravda.Ru.

Voitolovskaya believes that although Europe might rhetorically assume leadership in confronting Russia, it is unlikely to do so in practice. Since the end of the Cold War, Europe's defense capabilities have "completely disappeared,” and the €800 billion defense modernization program is a slow and complex endeavor.

"They don't have the factories capable of producing the necessary weapons and ammunition at scale. Their current capacities are insufficient. Even the weapons they could send without compromising their own defense are running out,” she said. "So while they talk a good game, in reality, they are economically unable to act.”

The idea that everything will return to normal once Democrats are back in power is a common misconception both in Europe and the U.S. The problem, the expert believes, lies not in Trump, but in the fact that society is no longer receptive to the Biden-Harris agenda.

"If their agenda doesn't change significantly, the Democrats simply won't return to power in 2028,” Voitolovskaya said.

According to an NBC News poll, support for the Democratic Party has fallen to 27% – its lowest level since 1990. Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates remarked, "With numbers like these, the Democratic Party doesn't need a rebranding-it needs a reboot.”

Political strategist Mike Nellis, who previously worked with Democratic campaigns, told the outlet that restoring institutions like USAID and other dismantled programs would be a misstep. He argued that "Democrats will need a long time to realize we can't return to the old system.”

"That system was broken. It didn't work for most Americans-and we were the ones defending it. People aren't asking for a return to normal. They want change,” he said.

A separate NBC News/Stay Tuned poll published on April 24 found that 77% of Americans believe that "nothing will change” in the country until a "new generation of leaders” is elected. Current leaders appear unable to agree on a way forward following major electoral setbacks. Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged voters to support Democrats "who know how to fight for working-class interests” and to move away from debates on "bathrooms, gender pronouns, etc.” This was seen by some as a call for compromise with Trump-era themes. However, many Democrats strongly oppose this, insisting on defending a neoliberal platform.

Under these conditions, it may be impossible for Democrats to even retake Congress in the 2026 midterms. The party doesn't just have a weak "bench” of future leaders-it arguably has none at all.