It’s time to be brave. MAGA and the tech bros are not unbeatable. – What the US National Security Strategy means for Europe
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Dear friends!
The new US National Security Strategy is a all-out attack on the European Union. The US is calling for the abolition of the EU and the strengthening of ‘patriotic’ – i.e. far-right and pro-Putin – parties. It also wants Europe to have ‘realistic expectations’ about the outcome of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, i.e. to renounce a rules-based world order. Otherwise, the US is threatening to interfere in the relationship between Europe and Russia. This does not bode well for Eastern Europe.
Instead of giving in, Europe must now show backbone and be the very alliance that defends democracy and freedom.
Anyone who had hoped that the MAGA gang could be tamed through submission must now admit that this strategy has failed miserably. Neither Mark Rutte’s embarrassing pandering nor Ursula von der Leyen’s compliance could prevent the US from imposing Russian interests on Ukraine and enriching itself in the process. Nor could they prevent the US from harassing European industry with tariffs. Or openly demanding complete dominance and impunity for its own US corporations in Europe. One thing is clear: those who stand for democracy and freedom must now show backbone against the authoritarian attack with which the US and Russia jointly want to destroy the European Union.
The battle for the EU and its values is being fought in the digital space.
Anyone who is surprised by the vehemence with which Musk and Vance – publicly supported by Medvedev – are protesting against the laughably low penalty imposed on X has failed to understand the relevance of algorithms. The systematic favouring of extremist parties is Trump’s tool for abolishing democracy in Europe. For Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, independent studies have shown (see list below) how Musk boosts far-right parties and suppresses the reach of moderate and progressive political actors. I cannot understand why the European Commission refuses to finally call this widespread suppression of democratic parties on US platforms what it is and punish it as such: censorship.
It is time for courage. MAGA and the tech bros are not unbeatable. In Europe, a large majority of the population supports the enforcement of tech rules.
In the US, the president’s approval ratings are at a record low. Prominent Republicans are abandoning the sinking ship, and dissatisfaction in Congress and across the country is skyrocketing. The Democrats swept the board in the last elections. Trump could become a lame duck as early as the 2026 midterm elections. The AI bubble threatens to burst and drag the American economy into the abyss, and life is becoming increasingly unaffordable for average Americans. US citizens are increasingly shocked by the extent of the moral abyss that is opening up with the Epstein files, which also mention Musk and Thiel.
Anyone who is still half-heartedly trying to make a pact with Trump, Musk and Thiel will soon be ashamed of having courted a convicted criminal and his accomplices.
As the EU, we have everything we need. A strong alliance with democratic values, an efficient and innovative economy, and a population that overwhelmingly supports the European Union and the enforcement of tech rules. The only thing missing is the political will in the EU Commission, the member states and parts of the European Parliament to finally switch from appeasement to independence. We have what it takes. Let’s be brave.
But, without public pressure, this will not happen. That is why, in the coming months, I will be talking primarily about what is needed to achieve this independence, as many in civil society and the business community are also doing.
If you want to help, please share my LinkedIn post on this topic here and forward this newsletter.
It is time for courage.
With European regards,
Yours, Alexandra Geese
Studies demonstrating political bias on X:
- The X effect. How Elon Musk is boosting the British Right. https://news.sky.com/story/the-x-effect-how-elon-musk-is–boostingthe-british-right-13464487
- Political biases on X before the 2025 German Federal Election. Tabia Tanzin Prama, Chhandak Bagchi, Vishal Kalakonnavar, Paul Krauß, Przemyslaw A. Grabowicz. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.02888
- Algorithmic Biases on X before the 2025 Polish Presidential Election, Tabia Tanzin Prama, Vishal Kalakonnavar, Przemyslaw A. Grabowicz, https://zenodo.org/records/17512529
- Global Witness (2025). TikTok and X recommend pro-AfD content to non-partisan users ahead of the German elections. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/tiktok-and-x-recommend-pro-afd-content-to-non-partisan-users-ahead-of-the-german-elections/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16998328683&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhviKj5nqkAMVRK6DBx23IzjLEAAYASAAEgICL_D_BwE
- Ye, Luceri & Ferrara (2025). Auditing Political Exposure Bias: Algorithmic Amplification on Twitter/X During the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (pp. 2349-2362). https://dl.acm.org/doi/full/10.1145/3715275.3732159
- Huszár et al. (2022). Algorithmic amplification of politics on Twitter. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119(1), https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357230555_Algorithmic_amplification_of_politics_on_Twitter
- Verwiebe et al. (2025). Digitalisiert, politisiert, polarisiert? Eine Analyse von Social-Media-Feeds junger Menschen zur Bundestagswahl 2025 auf TikTok, YouTube, Instagram und X. Bertelsmann Stiftung. https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/fileadmin/files/user_upload/Digitalisiert_politisiert_polarisiert.pdf (in German)