Why have Europeans surrendered to Trump?
In 2025, Europe endured a continental-scale humiliation. The EU and UK gave in to Donald Trump's tariff extortion - accepting lopsided trade deals, tribute-like payments and adjustments to domestic laws. At NATO, European leaders grovelled - calling the US president "daddy" even as he threatened to invade an EU country's territory. "They call me the president of Europe," Trump bragged. Terrified of losing US protection from Russia, European leaders have accepted terms that echo the coersion once imposed on China during its 'century of humiliation'. Yet citizens accepted it. Why?
Journalist Dave Keating says the reason goes far beyond geopolitics. America permeates Europeans' daily lives: television, music, news, technology, commerce and social media all create psychological dependence. Many Europeans feel so culturally intertwined with the US it's almost like they live in it - making it hard to imagine America as anything other than a friend. That, Keating contends, is why Europeans capitulated while other global powers didn't. And it's why so many can't accept that the threats to Europe don't just come from the East, they also come from the West.
The Owned Continent offers a blunt assessment of Europe's dependence and describes how Trump has exploited it. Yet Keating also proposes a way out: six essential steps to reclaim strategic autonomy and escape Washington's control - by using the power of the European Union.
About the author:
Dave Keating is an American-European journalist in Brussels who has covered EU politics for 20 years. He is a TV correspondent and the author of Gulf Stream Blues on Substack, known for his clear, accessible analysis. A former Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and the editor of EuropeanVoice.com, he was ranked the top EU social media influencer in 2023. Keating draws upon his on-the-ground reporting experience in London, Brussels, Paris, Prague, Berlin, New York, Chicago and Washington to provide context for European political developments.
Industry Reviews
"Europe has long punched below its weight on the global stage and this book offers an invaluable exploration of one central reason: the European Union's enduring dependence on the United States. In a masterful reframing of the EU's humiliation by the Trump administration, Keating situates recent events within a larger historical narrative - how Europe, in the aftermath of the Second World War, effectively became an American protectorate. Keating is also unsparing in his critique of today's EU leadership, faulting them for perpetuating this reliance and leaving Europeans in the role of supplicants and tributaries to US power."
-James Kanter, host of EU Scream and former New York Times EU correspondent
"The Owned Continent is holding up a merciless mirror to us, Europeans. It should be compulsory reading for all political leaders in Europe."
-Sophie in 't Veld, former Dutch MEP
"Dave Keating's must-read book is a comprehensive, insightful and accessible deep-dive into the historical roots of Europe's long over-reliance on the United States through to the present day. His descriptive prose and lively anecdotes chronicle a continent that lost its way and sense of self. But his conclusions are, ultimately, constructive and prescriptive - outlining how the EU can band together and reclaim a leadership role on the global stage."
-Christopher Alessi, Editor-in-Chief, The Parliament Magazine
