> I don't know if this was planned internally but it seems the way they figured out how to get EU to actually do something is to make it seem like big bad trump is going to hurt them.

This is an interesting take. You appear to be suggesting that the US has the EU's best interests at heart.

It ignores the fact that, on the rare occasion the Trump administration was not actively trying to undermine the EU, their "helpful advice" has always boiled down to "you should be more like us, and not being like us means you're failing."

My opinion, which I believe is common among Europeans, is that the opposite is true.