Trump's Transatlantic and trade policies are here to stay Congressman Jim Himes, the Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, describes the underlying truth that Trump's transatlantic policies are fueled by a bi-partisan tectonic shift. 1) Free-riding must end: Europe needs to build out its defense capabilities and industrial base. The cost carried by America for European defense is too high. 2) Don't expect Democrats to liberalize Trump's trade policies. America needs to reindustrialize. Europe does too. *For my own note, I would not expect a Democrat president to eliminate the tariff revenue source. I would not really expect any president, given the overall financial picture, which Himes refers to later. 3) Fiscal constraints in both the US and Europe mean that Europe must prioritize defense capabilities over its gargantuan welfare systems. European welfare is far more generous than American welfare while America funds Europe's defense. This never made sense. In fact, America double-funds European weakness by taking care of their military needs and incentivizing a level of European welfare that softens European economies and facilitates insane European immigration policies. ____ President Biden continued Trump's China trade policies after Trump's first term. Himes is indicating that a future Democratic president would likely keep Trump's policies towards NATO and trade policies vis-a-vis the rest of the world.