World cooperation, diplomacy, and international partnerships are good. But European leaders' dependence on the US puts them in a very weak negotiating position. They are needy, and Trump is a negotiator. The natural consequences follow.

Many Europeans (too many, in my opinion) have a mentality that someone will take care of them. In the UK, many believe the government must solve all their problems. Eastern Europe depends on NATO for security, and across the East and the South, they expect that the EU's structural funds will solve many of their infrastructure and social issues.

I have lived in all these places and even worked in defense for a short while. Before the Crimean events (even after the Georgian ones), there was little government investment in private security tech. You could start such a company believing that these regions are very concerned about their security, but you would quickly learn that they were concerned mainly with getting the West to secure them for free.

Though it sounds critical, what Trump is doing could benefit Europeans in many ways if they put their ego aside and worked the situation. And by working it, I don't mean bending the knee. Many European industries (especially defense) could be developed, many jobs created, and much GDP produced. There is space for an armed forces technology leader in Eastern Europe, a vacuum even. There is a lot of space for technology in the EU in general. But the mindset has to change. And maybe it's good that Trump is forcing that mindset change. Love him or hate him, if you lay the facts out black-on-white, he does expect international partners to carry their weight - something that would benefit them much more than the US. Discomfort creates culture and direction.