Europe Is Planning for a Post-America World (w/ Fiona Hill) - The Bulwark

Donald Trump is so enamored with Vladimir Putin he doesn't even know the Russian leader is regularly making fun of him in ways that can’t easily be translated. Trump is also running the White House like it's the Kremlin, with backdoor deals, quick enrichment schemes, nefarious activities, and cronies calling the shots—while people in official positions, like Marco, are just fig leaves. It’s the exact kind of political world where Putin flourishes. And his operation against the United States continues apace. Plus, the backstory on the proposed Venezuela-Ukraine swap, Trump's TACO on Greenland, Canada and Europe have had enough of the U.S. and buying American, Western allies don’t trust Vance’s dependence on tech bros, and hello: Ozempic is a Danish drug.

The one and only Fiona Hill joins Tim Miller.


Chapters:
00:00 Intro and Fiona Hill’s background
01:18 From coal country to Cold War Russia expert
05:07 Childhood story and early resilience
06:03 Why Hill joined the Trump administration
09:15 The difficulty of saying no inside Trump’s White House
11:15 Trump, Putin, and the limits of expertise
13:01 Russia’s interference and why it worked
17:11 Trump, useful idiots, and parallel power structures
17:30 Ad Break – Function Health
19:18 Russia’s goals and American vulnerability
21:34 Helsinki, translators, and what really happened
23:52 Putin’s manipulation style explained
26:13 Venezuela, Ukraine, and backchannel diplomacy
28:39 How Greenland entered Trump’s worldview
31:18 Is Greenland actually a national security issue?
35:11 Trump’s Greenland walk back and fallout
38:43 Canada, Europe, and a post-US security order
41:38 NATO, defense spending, and long-term consequences
44:57 Nuclear proliferation risks and Europe’s response
48:12 Trump’s “peace boards” and authoritarian alignment
50:44 Ukraine negotiations and Russian manipulation
54:34 Is there an off ramp for Ukraine?
57:31 A closing case for democratic resistance