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Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Aug 11

"But Western civilisation is not Trump’s to define and Europeans are not obliged to follow his lead...Europe needs to once again assert itself as a player on the world stage."

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Aug 11

"Trump’s two complementary ideological threads—on one side the Roman Empire, on the other “Judeo-Christian” values—serve to drive the second Trump administration’s views: liberalism is a disease, with tradition its cure; and Europe is a supranational adversary to be conquered."

Trump’s quest to transform the West

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Aug 11

"The Trump administration is drawing on Roman Empire imagery, and Trump’s own version of Christianity, to reinforce its perception of Western values and impose conditional bilateral partnerships."

Read my latest piece for @ecfr.eu

ecfr.eu/article/trum...

The Trump administration is drawing on Roman Empire imagery, and Trump’s own version of Christianity, to reinforce its perception of Western values and impose conditional bilateral partnerships.

Brussels hold’em: European cards against Trumpian coercion

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Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · May 23

ecfr.eu/publication/...

Faced with an aggressive United States, Europe has more leverage than it realises. Across trade, technology, infrastructure, finance and people-to-people relations it has ways of retaliating…

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · May 23

Uh oh. Peter Navarro must have had an early morning at the White House.

Make sure to read @tobiasgehrke.bsky.social on the cards that Europe has in this game of high stakes hold 'em. (link in thread)

The bully’s pulpit: Finding patterns in Trump’s use of military force

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · May 8

Read the full analysis and see a breakdown of Trump's threats of use of force and his actual uses of force here: ecfr.eu/article/the-...

Over two presidential terms, Donald Trump has used threats to intimidate his adversaries and mostly only employed force against his weaker victims. This pattern of bullying provides an insight into…

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · May 8

3/"These cases reveal a bully’s logic: Trump was willing to say nearly anything to establish dominance or deterrence, but he was unwilling to act when the consequences could involve a major war, especially with a nuclear or near-nuclear power."

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · May 8

2/"Trump uses threats and force much like a playground bully: while large and outwardly powerful, he actually fears the use of force in any situation even vaguely resembling a fair fight."

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · May 8

1/Over two presidential terms, Donald Trump has used threats to intimidate his adversaries and mostly only employed force against his weaker victims. This pattern of bullying provides an insight into his future decision-making. @jyshapiro.bsky.social @ecfr.eu

The art of the peace deal: What the Trump administration wants from the Russia-Ukraine negotiations

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Apr 3

"America is not looking to make the world safe for democracy, protect Ukrainian sovereignty or seek a new transatlantic balance in providing for European security. It is pursuing an aura of peace and a new deal with Russia."

Read our new piece here for @ecfr.eu: ecfr.eu/article/the-...

Trump is keen to trade US involvement in Ukraine for a vision of a new Russian-American order

The New Way Nations are Fighting (and why it matters)

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Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Mar 27

New video out! @jyshapiro.bsky.social joined Johnny Harris to talk about proxy wars and what makes the war in Ukraine different.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqJn...

YouTube video by Johnny Harris

www.youtube.com

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Mar 26

Listen to @jyshapiro.bsky.social on the most recent episode of Pod Save the World

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Call of Duty: Dumbass Group Chat

Podcast Episode · Pod Save the World · 03/26/2025 · 1h 33m

podcasts.apple.com

Brussels hold’em: European cards against Trumpian coercion

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Mar 21

The Europeans do indeed hold cards when it comes to the US and the Trump Administration. @tobiasgehrke.bsky.social digs in to explain what they are and how effective they might be if played in the coming months in his new brief. Read it here and share your thoughts! @ecfr.eu ecfr.eu/publication/...

Faced with an aggressive United States, Europe has more leverage than it realises. Across trade, technology, infrastructure, finance and people-to-people relations it has ways of retaliating…

Facing Trump’s tariff war: A defensive blueprint for the EU

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Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Feb 26

Jamieson Greer is set to be confirmed today as Trump's USTR. Read Majda Ruge's latest piece that details what he will bring to the US-EU trade relationship. @ecfr.eu

ecfr.eu/article/faci...

Trump and his cabinet hold divergent views on the use and purpose of tariffs. The EU needs a robust defence of its interests on all fronts

How the Trump administration makes foreign policy decisions

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Feb 24

"Trump has shifted the US government from a technocratic policy process to a factional policy process... It is by design opaque, redundant, and contradictory. But elections have consequences, and this is one of them." @jyshapiro.bsky.social

blueblaze.substack.com/p/how-the-tr...

The Technocratic versus Factional Processes

blueblaze.substack.com

Letter from Washington: Why Trump ignores Europe

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Feb 19

"Europeans need to stop asking why the Americans cut them out and demonstrate that they need to be cut in. They need to show not just that they have assets, but that they can strategically deploy (or withhold) them as part of a negotiation." - @jyshapiro.bsky.social

ecfr.eu/article/lett...

Donald Trump has effectively ignored Europeans in his plan for negotiations over the war in Ukraine. In searching for a reason, Europeans must face the uncomfortable truth: they simply aren’t importan...

Elon Musk doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt

Reposted by Chris Herrmann

Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social · Jan 24

It’s not just that the salute was so obviously Nazi. It’s that everything we know about Elon suggests he would do something like this www.vox.com/politics/396...

Elon Musk’s Nazi trolling exposes the collapse of America’s guardrails against some of history’s foulest ideas.

www.vox.com

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Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Jan 23

"Trump makes a tremendous number of forceful threats and executes very little of them. Largely, he is a Chickenhawk. He is quite afraid of war and quite proud of the fact that he hasn't committed the US to wars."

- @jyshapiro.bsky.social on Decoding Geopolitics www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNRj...

Will Donald Trump Defend Taiwan and What's His Plan For Ukraine? | Ep. 47 Jeremy Shapiro

YouTube video by Decoding Geopolitics Podcast

www.youtube.com

Brazilian Police Accuse Bolsonaro of Plotting a Coup

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Jan 9

Looks great! Excited to read it soon

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Jan 9

We definitely do, but these aren't forest fires

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Reposted by Chris Herrmann

Morgan Tingley @mwtingley.bsky.social · Jan 8

The insanity of being a fire ecologist in the epicenter of a major fire event, bags packed and ready to evacuate, watching active fire from my window, while taking media requests and explaining to the public, for the 100,000th time how climate change is largely responsible for this

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Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Nov 21

Oh what could have been. We reap what we sow.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Nov 21

Breaking News: Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former right-wing president, could face criminal charges over claims that he was involved in plans to cling to power after losing the 2022 election.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro could face criminal charges over accusations that he was involved in plans to stage a coup after losing the 2022 elections.

www.nytimes.com

The Orbanisation of America: Hungary’s lessons for Donald Trump

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Nov 21

The Gaetz controversy has made Trump’s other cabinet picks, who would normally be nonstarters, seem less extreme. I doubt that this was the intention, but the effect is Gaetz is now the sacrificial lamb that might hold the door open for Gabbard, Hegseth, and RFK Jr. who look palatable in comparison

Chris Herrmann @cwherrmann.bsky.social · Nov 21

What do we have in store over the next four years? Is the "Orbanisation of America" around the corner?

Read @jyshapiro.bsky.social and @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social and you will begin to notice the eerie similarities.

ecfr.eu/publication/...

If Trump wins the US presidency, Republicans will likely adapt techniques refined in Viktor Orban’s Hungary as they return to power – with profound implications for both America and Europe.