Charles III speaking against trump

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King Charles III of England, besides implicitly criticizing Donald Trump's reckless behavior and Congress's indifference in the US Congress, also jokingly remarked at a White House state dinner that if Trump had said Europe wasn't America, he would have already switched to German; if it weren't for Britain, Americans would be speaking French today.

Those familiar with history know that France also coveted the land that is now America, but Britain ultimately won. Charles's remark is a reminder that America's foundation today comes from Britain.

In fact, as I've mentioned before, without France's involvement, the US would almost certainly not have won the War of Independence (1776-1783), and the US might still be a British colony today.

What I want to say today is that while the US certainly played a pivotal role in defeating Germany in World War II, Trump's portrayal as if the US selflessly sacrificed over 200,000 American lives to save Europe is a surreal fairytale.

The truth is, the US never wanted to intervene in the European theater. When Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, officially starting World War II, the United States maintained its neutrality. It neither sent troops nor provided any economic aid. If Britain and France wanted to buy anything from the US, they had to pay in cash; otherwise, they were out of the question. And only US dollars were accepted. Under this neutrality, even if Germany offered to buy in US dollars, the US still sold the goods.

It wasn't until June 1940, after France fell and the British reinforcements sent to France were nearly wiped out, that the US became somewhat more "generous," providing Britain with 50 old destroyers in exchange for Britain leasing eight overseas bases to the US for free for 99 years.

This point is clearly illustrated in the film *The Darkest Hour*, made over a decade ago.

Then the German Luftwaffe launched a massive bombing raid on Britain. Britain managed to hold out, but it simply couldn't afford to buy supplies from the United States. Only after Prime Minister Churchill's persistent pleas did President Roosevelt push Congress to pass the Lend-Lease Act, a provision for supplies to Britain that was essentially a loan. However, many in the US at the time didn't want to get involved in European affairs, so Congress debated for two whole months before the bill was passed in March 1941.

Moreover, while supplies could be partially loaned or sent, sending troops was another matter entirely. Aside from a few volunteers, it was a European war, not an American one.

When did the United States finally decide to send troops to Germany?

In reality, it was after Germany declared war on the United States that the US had no choice but to respond.

Germany was an ally of Japan, one of the so-called Axis powers. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US Pacific Fleet headquarters at Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States. Germany, as an ally of Japan, immediately declared war on the United States as well.

At the time, Germany occupied most of Europe and was approaching Moscow, the Soviet capital. Meanwhile, Japan, after its attack on Pearl Harbor, swiftly swept through Southeast Asia. Now, both countries had declared war on the United States. Once they had consolidated their control over Europe, China, and Southeast Asia in a couple of years, amassing resources across much of the globe, it was obvious that their next target would be the United States.

Therefore, the United States' deployment of over three million troops to the European theater was a necessary measure to protect its own nation. And don't be misled by recent American WWII films into thinking that only American soldiers fought in Europe; British, Canadian, and Australian troops also fought valiantly. For example, proportionally, British soldiers killed more than American soldiers.

Don't get me wrong. The enormous contribution of the US military to the European theater is undeniable, but don't fall into the fairytale notion that the US entered the war selflessly to liberate Europe, and that Europeans therefore had to be eternally subservient to the US. The objective fact is that the US and Europe fought side-by-side against a common enemy.

The same was true in the European theater and the Pacific theater, but I won't elaborate here.

Shortly after the end of World War II, the Korean War broke out. It was a war in the Asia-Pacific region, not a European war, and its impact on American interests far outweighed that on Britain. North Korea did not declare war on Britain, and Britain, in a state of disarray, could have easily chosen not to intervene, but it still joined the US in sending over 60,000 troops, resulting in over 1,000 deaths.

Subsequently, Britain was involved in the Gulf War of 1990, the Yugoslav air campaign of 1999, the Afghan War of 2001, the Iraq War of 2003, and so on. The only exception was the Vietnam War, where Britain was preoccupied with the Malayan independence movement and did not intervene, but it still sent a military advisory group to provide the US with military analysis of Southeast Asia.

No US president has ever acted as if Europe owes the US something like Trump. Do you think it's because previous presidents were foolish, allowing Europe to benefit, and only Trump was clear-headed? Don't be ridiculous.

Allies are forged over decades with blood and sweat, not through bickering and squabbles. You think Trump is advocating for American interests? He's actually tearing down America's foundations.