Charles Schumer

President Donald Trump’s trip to Ankara, the Turkish capital hosting this year’s NATO summit, has brought with it a renewed focus on his instigative approach to European relationships.

He told reporters during a Wednesday press conference with Secretary General Mark Rutte that the U.S. should take control of Greenland, the territory of NATO ally Denmark, and criticized other longstanding European partners for their approach to his war with Iran. A day earlier, Trump dismissed the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the U.S.

His critics have pounced on the disjointed messaging, hoping to turn Trump’s communicative failures into partisan wins as the November midterms approach.

“Donald Trump’s rambling, unhinged, confused performance this morning was an embarrassment to our country on the world stage,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a Wednesday X post. “Serving as Putin’s mouthpiece, undermining our allies, and cheerleading for war—that is Donald Trump’s vision for our country.”

The president has followed the foreign policy playbook he wrote his first term, when he alienated allies and set the stage for the geopolitical disruption that's taken place since his return to the White House. Trump’s yearslong insistence on weakening American support for less powerful countries has prompted unity among smaller nations seeking more stability.

Many European states have thus felt unmotivated to join Trump’s war with Iran, which began in late winter with U.S.-assisted airstrikes against now-deceased ruler Ali Khamenei.

“Making transatlantic matters worse is how U.S. President Donald Trump has used the war as an opportunity to lash out at Europe, rather than to criticize Russia and China, which have backed Iran,” Nathalie Tocci, a senior fellow at the Institute for European Policymaking, wrote in a May essay. “Trump has insulted European leaders, threatened to abandon NATO and suspend Spain’s membership of the alliance, and announced troop withdrawals from Germany.”

The president has dismissed any criticism of his approach. A White House spokesperson told The National News Desk on Wednesday, in response to a request for comment on Schumer’s post, that “no matter how hard Cryin’ Chuck Schumer tries, the communists taking over the Democrat party will never love him."

It’s unclear whether Trump’s ability to divert attention toward his adversaries’ vulnerabilities will help the GOP in the midterms. Republicans have struggled to cope with the economic effects of his foreign policy agenda, leaving Democrats an opening to address voters’ affordability concerns that have dominated recent elections.