institutions, the European Union has abysmally failed the Trump test. The EU is an economic superpower and could have retaliated effectively against Trump's illegal tariffs — illegal under both U. and international law.
and international law. Instead, Europe did nothing and even made some apparent concessions. But notice my wording: apparent concessions.
But notice my wording: apparent concessions. The optics of the Trump-EU deal were humiliating, and optics matter. If you examine the substance, however, it starts to look as if Europe played Trump for a fool.