Europe is 'decaying', Russia has the 'upper hand': Trump slams allies over immigration and Ukraine

US President Donald Trump has taken a swipe at Europe, calling the continent "decaying" and "weak" on immigration and Ukraine, in an interview. The comments, as per reports, are likely to deepen already frayed ties between Washington and some of its closest allies. In an interview with Politico published Tuesday, Trump accused European leaders of political correctness and failure, arguing that their approach to migration has hollowed out their societies. "Most European nations, they’re decaying," he said. Europe’s migrant policies, he added, were a "disaster" that had left countries weaker rather than stronger.

Russia has the "upper hand": Trump

During the interview, Trump also turned his focus to Ukraine, saying President Volodymyr Zelensky should hold elections despite Russia's ongoing invasion. He claimed Moscow currently has the "upper hand" in the war and repeated his frustration with Kyiv’s leadership. "I think it's an important time to hold an election," Trump said, suggesting that wartime conditions were being used to delay the vote. "It gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore."

Ukraine was due to hold elections in March 2024, but the vote was postponed under martial law that was imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Around a fifth of the country remains under Russian occupation.

Trump also repeated his claim that Zelensky had not properly engaged with a US proposal to end the war. "It would be nice if he would read it," Trump said.

Political correctness harming Europe?

Slamming European leaders, Trump claimed, "They want to be politically correct, and it makes them weak. That’s what makes them weak". He added that there were "some real stupid ones" among Europe's leaders.

Referring to NATO leader Mark Rutte's statement at a summit in June, he said, "NATO calls me daddy," and remarked, "They talk but they don’t produce. And the war just keeps going on and on."

Trump's remarks follow the release of his administration’s new national security strategy last week, which alarmed European governments with language warning of so-called "civilisational erasure" and calling for resistance to migration trends. Critics say parts of the document echo ideas long associated with the far right, including themes tied to the so called "great replacement theory," which claims that a conspiracy to replace white populations was underfoot.

Trump singled out several countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Sweden, saying migration was "destroying" them. He also renewed his attacks on London mayor Sadiq Khan, whom he describing him as "horrible, vicious, disgusting". Khan responded by saying Trump was "obsessed" with him and noted that Americans were "flocking" to move to London in large numbers.