Considering that the vast majority of Western Europeans strongly dislike President Trump and the broader Republican ideology, they’ll be very disappointed with the apparent success of Republicans in retaining the Senate and performing better than expected in the House of Representatives.
The response in tomorrow’s European broadsheet newspapers will reflect this sadness. We’ll see reports that imply Americans are innately racist. We’ll see suggestions that most Republican voters are too stupid to tie their own shoelaces, let alone vote correctly in American elections.
While the editorials will wail, I will wallow in laughter.
I will laugh not because I had some deep desire for the GOP to do well, but rather because the European editorials will yet again crystallize the ignorance of European elites. Time and time again, they fundamentally misunderstand the nature of American society.
They do not understand the individualism that renders the unique American affection for firearms. They do not understand the reflexive belief that government isn’t necessarily a productive force for good. And they find great distaste in the willingness of citizens to wrap themselves proudly in a sense of patriotic duty.
But more than that, they actively choose not to understand. Casual anti-Americanism, unfortunately, defines European sentiments in a way that obstructs opportunities for understanding our society.
Still, the lesson is real. If Europeans want to understand American politics better in the future, they should be cautious about reading European newspapers (with the exception of the excellent Tim Stanley).
