DISINFO: The EU fears a trade war with Trump despite Biden having wrecked its economy
SUMMARY
The EU fears a trade war with Trump, despite Joe Biden’s greater role in wrecking the Bloc’s economy. European leaders celebrated Biden’s victory, expecting him to bring the era of Trump-style ‘America First’ economic nationalism to an end. Three years later, the bloc is facing its worst economic crisis since World War II, thanks to Biden’s policies. While European businesses were harmed by the Trump tariffs, the Biden administration’s push to kick off a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, and a subsequent spike in energy costs, have had a far greater impact on the bloc’s economic prospects.
RESPONSE
This is a deliberate distortion of facts. By accusing the Biden Administration of efforts to set several regions on fire, this disinformation story aims to clear Russia of any responsibility for its invasion of Ukraine, which was Vladimir Putin’s personal decision. Solely blaming the US for tensions in various regions unjustly absolves other actors, despite their actions significantly contributing to the escalation of the current situation. This includes groups and countries like Hamas, the Houthi rebels, China and North Korea.
The allegation that the EU is facing its worst economic crisis since World War II is false, as the impact of the 1970s oil crisis was much higher, leading to a fall of 2.5% of Europe’s GDP. This baseless message serves to promote a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Europe’s economic meltdown due to its decisions towards Russia.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the US needs a big war in Europe to prevent its own economic collapse, that the EU is in decline after following Anglo-Saxon orders against Russia, that the US caused the war in Ukraine to undermine Europe's economy, or that the US is destroying industry in Europe by forcing Brussels to sanction Russia.