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TENSIONS sparked by United States President Donald Trump’s stated intention to take control of Greenland have driven a wedge into what was once a seemingly iron-clad alliance between the MAGA movement and Europe’s far-right political forces, exposing the limits of ideological solidarity when national sovereignty is perceived to be under threat.
AP reported on Sunday that the dispute has revealed growing unease among European nationalists over Trump’s assertive foreign policy, signalling that shared positions on immigration, nationalism and cultural identity may no longer be sufficient to override concerns about American interventionism abroad.
Far-right leaders in Germany, Italy and France have openly criticised Trump’s Greenland plans, while even Nigel Farage, a long-time Trump ally and leader of Britain’s Reform UK party, described the move as “a very hostile act”.
The backlash was clearly reflected during a debate in the European Parliament on Tuesday, where far-right lawmakers traditionally aligned with Trump overwhelmingly supported halting an EU–U.S. trade agreement.
They characterised Trump’s threats as acts of “coercion” and “threats to sovereignty”, marking a notable departure from their previous deference to Washington.
The divergence has surprised observers, particularly given the surge of far-right parties across the European Union in 2024. Nationalist movements made significant electoral gains from Spain to Sweden, and their combined political groupings now hold 26 per cent of seats in the European Parliament, according to the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
Less than a year ago, Europe’s far-right leaders gathered in Madrid to celebrate Trump’s election victory under the banner “Make Europe Great Again”. At the time, Elon Musk, before his falling-out with Trump, amplified far-right European figures on X, including Germany’s Alternative for Germany party.
Yet internal divisions within MAGA over Trump’s foreign policy approach have since echoed across Europe.
His actions regarding Greenland, Venezuela and Iran have increasingly forced his political allies abroad to choose between their ideological affinity with Trump and their own nationalist principles.
France’s far-right National Rally has long highlighted its ideological closeness to Trump, particularly on immigration.
One of its senior figures, Louis Aliot, attended Trump’s inauguration last year, while Trump has defended party leader Marine Le Pen, calling her conviction for embezzling EU funds a “witch hunt”.
Jordan Bardella, the party’s 30-year-old president and a member of the European Parliament, previously praised Trump’s nationalist outlook, telling the BBC last month that a “wind of freedom, of national pride” was sweeping Western democracies.
However, Bardella has recently sought to distance himself from the U.S. administration.
In his New Year’s address, he condemned U.S. military intervention in Venezuela aimed at capturing then-President Nicolás Maduro, calling it “foreign interference” serving “the economic interests of American oil companies”.
On Tuesday, Bardella went further, denouncing Trump’s pressure tactics over Greenland as “commercial blackmail”. “Our subjugation would be a historic mistake,” he said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, another perceived Trump ally, echoed that sentiment. In an interview on Rai television on Wednesday, she said she had told Trump directly that his threat of tariffs linked to Greenland was “a mistake”.
By contrast, Europe’s eastern flank has shown far greater reluctance to criticise Trump. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, often described as the pioneer of Trump-style illiberal populism in Europe, has carefully avoided any rebuke of the U.S. president.
Facing what could be the most challenging election of his 16-year rule in April, Orbán has anchored his political identity to his close relationship with Trump, promising voters that it will bring tangible benefits.
He has consistently portrayed Trump as Europe’s best hope for peace in Ukraine and a defender of national sovereignty.
Orbán has framed Trump’s Greenland ambitions and the removal of Maduro as either beneficial to Hungary or irrelevant to its interests. “It’s an in-house issue … It’s a NATO issue,” Orbán said of Greenland earlier this month, adding that any changes to the island’s sovereignty should be discussed within NATO.
Despite his vocal defence of sovereignty, Orbán praised U.S. action in Venezuela, branding the country a “narco state” and suggesting Maduro’s removal could eventually lead to cheaper global oil prices benefiting Hungary.
Similar caution has been evident among other eastern European leaders. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said in Davos this week that Greenland-related tensions should be resolved “in a diplomatic way” between Washington and Copenhagen, not through a broader European response. He urged Western European leaders to temper their criticism of Trump.
In the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Andrej Babis has declined to speak out against Trump’s Greenland threats, warning against allowing the issue to trigger conflict with Washington.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has also remained silent on Greenland, even after meeting Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort last week.
However, Trump’s removal of Maduro prompted Fico to “unequivocally condemn” the action, describing it as a “kidnapping” and “the latest American oil adventure”.
Analysts say the ideological bond between MAGA and Europe’s far-right could endure by refocusing on shared grievances, particularly opposition to Brussels.
Daniel Hegedüs, Central Europe director at the German Marshall Fund, pointed to recent far-right votes in the European Parliament against EU migration reforms and the proposed Mercosur trade agreement.
“If Trump continues that way, posing a threat to the sovereignty of European countries, then of course that will divide the European radical right,” he said.
“We don’t know whether this division will stay with us or whether they can again unite forces around issues where they can cooperate. Those issues can be damaging enough for the European Union.” - January 25, 2026