Hanson Says 500 Million Europeans Risk Second-Class Status as U.S. Outpaces EU by $10 Trillion GDP
Updated
Updated · Daily Signal · Jul 8
Hanson Says 500 Million Europeans Risk Second-Class Status as U.S. Outpaces EU by $10 Trillion GDP
2 articles · Updated · Daily Signal · Jul 8
Summary
Victor Davis Hanson argues Europe has slipped toward “second-class” status because its leaders embraced green energy, redistribution and open-border policies that eroded competitiveness and social cohesion.
He says the contrast with the United States fuels European anger at Washington and Donald Trump, pointing to U.S. oil output near 14 million barrels a day and GDP roughly $10 trillion above Europe’s despite 340 million Americans versus 500 million Europeans.
Hanson also ties the friction to security and trade disputes, saying Europe resents U.S. tariffs, Trump’s Greenland rhetoric and possible NATO troop shifts even as America covers 16% to 20% of NATO’s budget and, by his estimate, about 50% including logistics and nuclear deterrence.
The broader warning in his analysis is that Europe still has the population, education and strategic weight to recover, but only if it reverses policies he says have left it dependent, slower-growing and less influential.