Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, says European Union president Jean-Claude Juncker “undermine[d] the American-EU relationship” with his complaints about President Trump’s support for Brexit.
“I think petty jabs from European leaders are not helpful,” Cruz told the Washington Examiner.
Juncker threatened to “promote the independence of Ohio and Austin, Texas in the U.S.” during a speech Thursday in Malta, one day ofter UK Prime Minister Theresa May gave the EU formal notice of Britain’s impending departure. Senate lawmakers responded with varying degrees of hostility or sympathy for his frustration, while the State Department issued a fence-mending statement in support of Europe and the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU.
“My simple message to Juncker is: Don’t mess with Texas,” Cruz said. “His silly jabs are not productive, undermine the American-EU relationship, and disrespect the sovereign will of the British people who cast their votes and made their wishes quite clear.”
The State Department declined to rise to Juncker’s complaints. “Whatever the future UK-EU relationship looks like, we want the UK to remain a strong leader in Europe, the U.S.-UK special relationship to continue, and for both the EU and UK to remain strong leaders globally,” a State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “The world continues to turn to the transatlantic community to address its most difficult challenges. The United States wants to ensure that all the pillars of that community, NATO, the EU, and the UK, remain as strong as possible.”
A top Senate Democrat took a sympathetic view of Juncker’s comments, suggesting the remarks flowed from “anxiety” that the UK’s exit from the union would advance Russian foreign policy interests.
“It’s important to the United States to have a strong Europe; it’s important to Russia to have a weak Europe,” said Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, the ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee. “Part of Russia’s strategy is to weaken the EU, so I can understand the anxiety of Europeans [over Trump’s decision to] support moves that play into Russia’s handbook. So, from that point of view I can understand the concern.”
British officials maintain that such worries are overwrought.
“We are determined to emerge from our negotiations not just able to make our own decisions and our own laws, but as a valuable partner to free trade and as a vocal advocate of liberal democratic values,” Kim Darroch, the UK ambassador to the United States, told reporters Wednesday. “We are leaving the EU but we are not turning our back on Europe.”
