Lame duck or angry duck? Europe’s leadership largely silent on Trump’s election disaster, fearing backlash

Hours before the US election mid-results cemented Democrats as king-makers in Congress, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said Washington’s role on world affairs may be diminishing. Zelensky then threw his weight behind Germany – and Europe as a whole – following years of chaotic foreign policy under Donald Trump. “US voters have made their choice clear,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, later on Wednesday (4 November). “I hope that the new Congress and the new Senate will continue supporting Ukraine and and also putting more pressure on Russia,” she told reporters in Brussels. Democrats are likely to use their new-found powers over spending and hold hearings, but Congress won’t have much sway over Trump’s foreign policy instincts. The win is nevertheless a significant rebuttal of Trump’s MAGA coalition that has so far defined his presidency. Democrats took 54 seats in the Senate (out of 100) and 228 in the House (out of 435). According to the New York Times, the Democrat congressional take-over is the largest for either party since 1976. Trump had told voters ahead of the election to pretend he was on the ballot. Once the results were announced, he posted on Truth Social that he wasn't on the ballot. Trump is still pro-Putin, anti-EU, pro-tariffs, and is struggling to find an exit ramp on the Iran war that has embroiled his administration in a possible never-ending war.