No more money will come from Donald Trump’s United States for Ukraine, and if the European Union wants to continue to economically support Kiev’s war effort, it will have to prepare to do it alone. It’s the warning that comes from Steve Bannon, the former strategist of Trump’s 2016 victory who leads the media arm of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
No more money for Ukraine
”We in the Maga movement are adamant, we want to cut funding for Ukraine 100 percent,” he said bluntly in an interview with Corriere della Sera. And Europe, if it believes in supporting Kiev, ”should be ready to put in the money, to write checks as big as the speeches”, because for the United States – explained Bannon – the priorities are the ”deconstruction of the Administrative state” and public debt, ”the main threat to national security”.
“With Trump’s election the EU will increase support for Kiev, winning the war remains the only option”
In foreign policy, ”Trump will say he wants peace in Ukraine. It is clear that he wants to put an end to this semi-obsession of pushing NATO almost into Russian territory”, said Bannon, maintaining that in this case Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ”is quite obvious that she had bet that Trump would never return, yes see from his policies”, but “the bet was wrong, it didn’t pay off. Now that Trump is back, the Maga movement is stronger than ever and we will take over the national security and foreign policy apparatus.”
The criticisms of Meloni
“I think many in the movement here think that Meloni has almost turned into a Nikki Haley,” Bannon said, citing the former US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump and former governor of South Carolina, who went from being a Trumpian to transformed into his opponent in the primaries. Meloni “was among the greatest supporters of the continuation of the war in Ukraine. However, Italy did not do enough to keep the Suez Canal open for trade”. However, he added, “I think that her attitude will change with the arrival of President Trump, who will convince her. And that the NATO countries will come on board quite quickly.”
Now that Trump is back, “the Maga movement is stronger than ever and we will take over the national security and foreign policy apparatus.” Asked if Meloni can be a bridge between America and Europe, Bannon responded that “If he stays true to his core beliefs, yes,” but adding that “we don’t need help from anyone in Europe. The populists have taken over this country , Trump is a great leader and I’m sure he will be magnanimous, but the Maga movement, which is further to the right than Trump, will say that Europe has done nothing for the United States.”
“We saved you in the First and Second World Wars, in the Cold War and in Ukraine. Enough. Why do we need a bridge? We have a model, America First: bring economic and job security back to the country. If you want a partner, ok, otherwise ok same. The Maga movement doesn’t need a bridge, because Le Pen, Farage and Orbán are with us. I would recommend to Meloni: be what you were when Fratelli d’Italia was at 3 percent”, concluded Bannon.
