It’s a far cry from January 17, 2017 when we saw Marine Le Pen in New York going to the Trump Tower hoping to be endorsed by the new White House resident. The time when Donald Trump appeared as a “model” for all populist parties worldwide is over. With his economic swings with tariffs, geopolitical moves with his strong influence on Greenland, and now military actions in Iran, the global leader of populism today evokes more fears than admiration. In the US, Donald Trump’s ratings are not good, his party fears the midterm elections. Internationally, they are bad. Eight out of ten French people see him as “a threat to peace.”
The idol has become repellent
The National Rally has witnessed a reversal of opinions. In November 2024: “Trump’s election is an extremely positive message for the Western world,” said Jordan Bardella. In January 2026: his Greenland offensive would be “a serious precedent,” he says. The American intervention in Venezuela, which even decapitates Nicolas Maduro, the idol of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is denounced by Marine Le Pen in the name of “the sovereignty of states never negotiable.” By the way, why doesn’t she say the same about Putin? But in summary, the idol has become repellent. “No, no! Trump is not our model.”
