Europe marks VE Day with Trump on its mind

VE Day was a joint Allied triumph over Nazi Germany ; over hatred, dictatorship, the Third Reich's territorial expansionism and heinous crimes against humanity.

Some 51 million Allied soldiers and civilians died during WW2, united in a pursuit to rid the world of the scourge of Nazism .

But 80 years on, we're surrounded by countless news and academic analyses singling out Donald Trump as the modern day nail in the coffin of the strong transatlantic bonds forged back then.

In Europe , the American president is viewed by many as the slayer-in-chief of decades-old common values.

In 2025 , the U.S. president of the United States no longer feels threatened by Russia .

With no common enemy anymore, the friendship is certainly fraying.

The West as we knew it, "no longer exists," says former US ambassador to Washington .

The war in Ukraine is the biggest conflict in Europe since WW2, it has the potential to spread.

During the Cold War western European societies had younger populations and far more slim-line welfare states.

Analysts say that's what would be needed again now to wean Europe off US security support.