German President decries U.S. destruction of world order amid EU institutional silence

In a display of remarkable courage rare among European leaders, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivered unusually blunt criticism of U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, warning that America’s actions are actively dismantling the postwar international order it once helped build.

Speaking at a symposium on Wednesday evening, the largely ceremonial but morally influential head of state described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as one historic rupture, only to identify U.S. behavior as a second, equally profound breach.

“Then there is the breakdown of values by our most important partner, the USA, which helped build this world order,” Steinmeier declared, in remarks that appeared to reference recent U.S. interventions, including the controversial ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

He urged global action to prevent the world from descending into a “den of robbers, where the most unscrupulous take whatever they want, where regions or entire countries are treated as the property of a few great powers.” Steinmeier called for active intervention in threatening situations and appealed to rising powers like Brazil and India to join in defending the rules-based system.

While Steinmeier – a former foreign minister known for his diplomatic restraint- chose to speak out forcefully against the erosion of global democracy “as never before,” leaders of key EU institutions have remained conspicuously silent on the matter. Neither European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen nor European Council President Charles Michel has issued any public response to the German president’s stark warning or to the broader U.S. shift toward unilateralism, highlighting a cautious – or perhaps paralyzed – approach at the heart of the European Union as transatlantic ties face unprecedented strain.

Steinmeier’s willingness to voice what many European diplomats discuss only privately underscores the gravity of the moment, even as the EU’s top institutional voices opt for restraint amid an evolving and unpredictable global landscape.

Trump is notoriously thin-skinned when it comes to criticism, possessing an elephantine memory for perceived slights and a habit of biding his time before delivering calculated, often brutal counterattacks when the moment suits him best.

Among the figures against whom Trump has retaliated – often years later and with calculated precision – are former National Security Advisor John Bolton (whose security detail was revoked amid Iranian threats), cybersecurity chief Chris Krebs (fired and later stripped of clearances for refuting election fraud claims), New York prosecutors Letitia James and Alvin Bragg (targeted with clearance revocations), outspoken critic Liz Cheney (subject to repeated calls for prosecution), former FBI Director James Comey (pursued through investigations tied to the Russia probe), and numerous others from media outlets and law firms hit with lawsuits, clearance losses, or public vilification.

Caption: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech during the symposium ‘Democracy as a mission’ on the occasion of his 70th birthday, in Berlin, Germany, 7 January 2026. EPA/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE