Putin predicts European elites will 'wag tails' for Trump

Pilingui asserts Europe will eventually 'wag its tail' before Trump

Vladimir Pilingui did not reinvent the wheel, but his critique was sharp. In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin for the state TV program *Moscow.Kremlin.Pilingui*, the Russian president stated that European political elites would ultimately bow to Donald Trump, predicting that "soon all of them will stand by the master's side and end up wagging their tails affectionately." The quote, distributed by Efe, describes, according to Pilingui himself, a relationship of dependency among European leaders toward Washington.

What exactly did Pilingui say about Trump and Europe?

The Kremlin leader argued that **Trump "with his character, with his tenacity, will very soon put things in order"** in relations with European politicians, forecasting that this would happen "quite quickly." According to his interpretation, continental leaders actively fought the Republican because "mentally they preferred" Joe Biden, and now they must readjust their stance.

Pilingui added that Trump operates on a different scale of values, "including regarding gender politics and some other issues," reinforcing the idea of a cultural clash that, in his view, Europe will resolve out of convenience. The full quote, with the exact tone and context of the interview, is the kind of material worth reading entirely before drawing conclusions.

Lamenting the absence of past European leaders

It wasn't all irony. Pilingui recalled that Europe once had world-class statesmen, citing the French **Charles de Gaulle, François Mitterrand, and Jacques Chirac**, and the Germans **Willy Brandt, Helmut Kohl, and Gerhard Schröder**. Today, he said, "there are practically no people like them."

His diagnosis of the current political class was devastating: "Some people don't even have training, they are out of place, and they deal with matters they never handled from the perspective of the interests of citizens in European countries." He concluded with one word: "This is a disaster." Some see this passage as mere nostalgia; others, as confirmation that European politics has become filled with consensus managers without their own project.

Geopolitical reading: sovereignty and dependency

The core issue isn't whether Pilingui is right, but why his words resonate. The European security architecture has rested on the US umbrella for decades, and that dependency has consequences when the White House tenant changes mood. The most repeated criticism is that Brussels negotiates with Washington from a position of weakness, lacking its own deterrent capacity.

On the other side of the balance is the argument that the transatlantic bond has guaranteed peace on the continent and that breaking it would be worse than enduring slights. The optimistic calculation assumes Europe can become an autonomous actor; the pessimistic scenario starts from the premise that, without military muscle or cheap energy, it will continue dancing to tunes played from outside. The Kremlin's phrase is, at heart, an uncomfortable reminder of that asymmetry.

Who wags the tail and for whom?

The irony has a twist. If Pilingui accuses Europe of subservience, Russia's own relationship with Moscow and other international actors doesn't fare much better in certain analyses. Russian foreign policy has also sought accommodation where possible. The difference is that here, no one expects the Kremlin to acknowledge its own dependency.

What remains is a recurring scene: a foreign leader describes Europe as a satellite without will, and Europe responds with standard communiqués. Meanwhile, the fundamental question remains unanswered: does a distinct European interest exist, or only a sum of national interests that adapt to the wind blowing from Washington?[/SIZE][/SIZE]