By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin, Max Colchester in London and Noemie Bisserbe in Paris
It isn't easy being one of President Trump's political allies in Europe these days.
Take Nigel Farage, leader of the populist party Reform UK, who has known Trump for close to a decade, hosted him on his phone-in radio show and visited him in the Oval Office.
Speaking to journalists at an English gas station this month, Farage said he was initially supportive of the American and Israeli attacks on Iran. Now, though, he says Britain shouldn't get involved in "another foreign war."
"Look, he's a friend of mine," he added, referring to the president. "I agree with many things that he does. I don't agree with other things that he does."
Since Trump's return to office, the administration has backed European right-wing parties it sees as aligned with its agenda. This year, the State Department said it would channel grants to think tanks and nongovernmental organizations that support the president's America First policies, including those that champion free speech and crackdowns on immigration.
At first, the parties welcomed the embrace. Yet as Europe gets hurt by the fallout from U.S. decisions, they are finding the contortions needed to reconcile this gratitude with their nationalist agendas increasingly difficult to perform.
Trump has questioned America's commitment to defend European allies, placed tariffs on the U.K. and the European Union, pressured Ukraine to accept a Russia-friendly peace, and pledged -- before relenting -- to seize Greenland from Denmark. His attack on Iran has sent energy prices higher, threatening to smother Europe's timid economic recovery and sparking fears of a new migrant exodus from the Middle East.
In the U.K., the vast majority of voters describe themselves as "anti-Trump," according to pollster YouGov. Other polls show only a quarter of Britons and Germans support Trump's attack on Iran. In France, polls show even right-wing voters have an unfavorable view of the president.
That is a growing problem for MAGA-aligned parties, even if their base actually likes Trump, said Tim Bale, politics professor at Queen Mary University of London: If Farage wants to become prime minister, he will have to appeal to a wider electorate -- one that largely despises Trump.
Many European populist parties agree with the MAGA movement about "how society should be structured and ordered," said Léonie de Jonge, professor of political science at Tübingen University in Germany. "But they are first and foremost vote-seeking" and their messages must "resonate with local audiences," she said.
So far, mainstream political parties have been reluctant to bash populist groups for their ties to Trump, fearing a backlash from the White House. However, as Trump's policies directly weigh on their electorate's pocket book, that reticence will likely fade, analysts say.
Some Trump allies began stepping up their criticism of the president around the Greenland episode. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has acted as a bridge between Europe and the U.S., has grown less glowing in her praise of the president. Her deputy, Matteo Salvini -- among Trump's most outspoken backers in Italian politics -- rejected calls by the president for European nations to help police the Strait of Hormuz, saying, "Italy isn't at war with anyone."
In France, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her protégé, Jordan Bardella, have gone further, criticizing Trump's military strikes in Venezuela -- though the party, which sees itself as a close supporter of Israel, has been more circumspect on the Iran attack.
The stakes are particularly high for opposition groups, said Georgios Samaras, a lecturer in public policy at King's College in London. U.S. backing gave them respectability and visibility, helping some to overcome their pariah status. A spat with the U.S. could threaten these gains.
In Germany, the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, embraced Trump's MAGA movement after members of his administration -- from Elon Musk to Vice President JD Vance -- backed the group ahead of a general election last year.
At first, the AfD cheered the accolade, airbrushing years of anti-American discourse and recasting its vocabulary to match MAGA talking points. Now it finds itself in an awkward spot as public opinion turns against the U.S.
One of Trump's foremost cheerleaders in the AfD is Markus Frohnmaier, a lawmaker who also led the party's ticket at a recent state election in Baden-Württemberg, home to Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and other manufacturers that struggle under the president's tariffs.
Frohnmaier repeatedly traveled to the U.S. in the run-up to the election, meeting, among others, Sarah Rogers, the U.S. diplomat who has spearheaded the administration's outreach to right-wing organizations around Europe.
The AfD and MAGA shared a "civilizational foundation" and positions on immigration, social issues and national sovereignty, Frohnmaier said. Given Germany's dependence on the U.S. for exports and security, Berlin should have an interest in good trans-Atlantic relations, he added.
But Trump's biggest appeal, he said, isn't as the maker of policies that often clash with European interests, but as a role model.
"From an American point of view, Trump is doing the right thing," he said. "The German government should do the same: Put German interests first."
Still, a debate has now broken out within the party about whether it should distance itself from Trump.
"We cannot be the lap dog of an 'America First' policy if it destroys German jobs," said Peter Felser, a senior AfD lawmaker. "We must remain a sovereign German party, not just the German branch of the MAGA movement."
Gerold Otten, another AfD lawmaker and a defense expert, said he saw the attacks on Venezuela and Iran and the president's contempt for norms as ominous warning signs.
"You enter very dangerous territory when you say, 'I am above the law,'" he said. On the global stage, "saying, 'I'm doing it because I can, because I am powerful.' That leads to the breakdown of civilization, a state where only the law of the jungle remains."
Write to Bertrand Benoit at bertrand.benoit@wsj.com, Max Colchester at Max.Colchester@wsj.com and Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 22, 2026 12:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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