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The president of the United States, Donald Trump, attacked the immigration policies of European countries on Saturday through a message posted on his social media platform Truth Social, coinciding with the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of American independence.
“Europe is learning that when you welcome criminals from the third world, you become a third world country,” Trump wrote.
The American president added that this deterioration “happens quickly, in the blink of an eye”; and concluded with the phrase “I was elected just in time!!!”.
The president presented his return to the White House as a timely correction to the course that, according to him, would lead the United States down the same path he describes for Europe.
The message, published at 2:59 PM on Saturday according to the original post on Truth Social, did not include specific data, did not point to any particular European country, nor did it cite statistics on crime or immigration.
The day before, Trump had insisted on that same line during an event in front of the iconic Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, where he warned about "newcomers who do not share the values" of the United States and declared English as the national language.
Criticism of Europe is not limited to immigration.
Since his return to power in January 2025, Trump has labeled European allies as "terrible" partners for not supporting him during the conflict with Iran, in which Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom denied logistical support or access to their military bases for operations.
In the commercial realm, Trump threatened at the end of June to impose a 100% tariff on European imports if the European Parliament approves a common tax on American digital multinationals such as Google, Apple, Meta, or Amazon.
On the subject of defense, the president has referred to NATO as a "paper tiger" and hinted at the possibility of withdrawing the United States from the alliance, although he would need Congress's approval to do so. He has stated that he will attend the alliance's summit in Ankara, scheduled for July 7 and 8, "just out of respect" for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In parallel, Trump's immigration policy has been one of the most aggressive of his administration: since January 2025, his administration has deported approximately 900,000 immigrants, canceled the humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, and has sent migrants to third-party African countries with no ties to the deportees.
Europe, for its part, has accelerated a contingency plan in anticipation of a possible U.S. withdrawal from NATO, while Trump demands that all alliance members allocate 5% of their gross domestic product to defense by 2035.
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