One of the curious oddities of our time is the near-universal contempt shown by Western Europeans towards President Donald J Trump. Even a fleeting visit to Europe will confirm the vicious hatred, so openly expressed of the American President. This loathing is even more bizarre, considering that he comfortably won the election in the United States where, evidently, most people do not share Europeans’ disdain of the President.

There is statistical evidence that in Western Europe, an overwhelming majority of people would not have voted for the American President. Indeed, prior to the American presidential election, Gallup, an opinion polling company, attempted to ascertain what percentage of European voters would have voted for Trump or Harris. Astonishingly, an overwhelming majority of voters (up to 96 per cent in Denmark, 85 per cent in Germany, 83 per cent in France, 78 per cent in Belgium, and 68 per cent in the United Kingdom) registered their preference for Harris over Trump.

We also know, from personal experience, that even ‘conservative leaning’ friends in Europe would have welcomed a Harris presidency. I recently returned from an extended trip to Belgium; my trip has provided me with revealing, yet incontrovertible, anecdotal evidence of the validity of the Gallup poll.

When I visit Belgium, I usually have a reunion with ‘conservative leaning’ former university classmates. I still look forward to seeing them because our bonding, at university so long ago was strong and durable. When we were students, on most nights, we would embark on a pub crawl, during which we would solve the problems of the world – fierce, but respectful and always hilarious debates on how the world should be run. We used to debate over cheap, plentiful beer, which has since become expensive and rare.

These former ‘mates’ are professional people who have the capacity to rely on their critical thinking skills to objectively assess the parlous situation of the world in which we live. Yet, this year, they subjected me to a vicious tirade of anti-Trump invective – an odious form of Trump TDS, European style, which would qualify in Australia as hate speech if it had been directed at immigrants.

One of my best friends, a bleeding heart, excoriated the President’s use of ICE to deport ‘unlawful non-citizens’ who have been living, illegally, in the United States. Although he grudgingly admitted that securing America’s southern border is an achievement, he felt that the cost of achieving it was too high.

‘What about the illegal guy who has been working in a garage inconspicuously for many years – should he be deported? Certainly, he would argue that he has every right to depend on, and take advantage of, the American judicial system to stay in the United States,’ he said.

My other friends, commenting on Zelensky’s disastrous meeting with the President in the Oval Office, argued that Trump is not a dignified leader because ‘no leader would ever subject a foreign leader – and a wartime president, a Churchillian trailblazer – to such a public humiliation, seen by millions of people around the world. This “undiplomatic” treatment of a foreign leader is proof that the American President is an odious oaf who should not serve as the leader of the free world,’ they argued. They also criticised the President for surrounding himself with spineless acolytes who sing his praises at every available opportunity to sanctify him.

Frankly, it is difficult and exhausting to seek to rebut every invective, especially if you find yourself in the position of a lonely opponent of these expressed views. Therefore, it is easier to sketch here the answer one could give.

It is important to make a distinction between the individual characteristics of a person, on the one hand, and his achievements (or lack of them), on the other. This is because it is perfectly possible for a tainted personality to achieve remarkable things that benefit society. However, this approach, sensible and logical as it might be, does not work on those who suffer from the European version of TDS. This is because they conflate the achievement of a desirable geopolitical or domestic political objective with the character of the President who seeks to achieve the objective. It is like saying that all religion is bad because there are degenerate priests who have committed heinous crimes, for example, child sex abuse. Of course, this is not to say that Trump’s character is faultless because, like every other human being, he has foibles which make him human. After all, most human beings are prone to praise (a commodity that, however, is very scarce these days because of jealousy of high achievers) and some of us are vain and downright narcissistic, but this is no more, no less than what we have come to expect from other human beings.

As to the ‘garage’ comment, my friend effectively argued that repeated and successful violations of the law gives illegal immigrants the right to use the legal system they deliberately circumvented. If so, it represents the evisceration of the rule of law which, if repeated, will inevitably weaken society. Regarding Zelensky, it is important to note that he requested greater and unconditional support from Trump to oppose Putin’s ‘special military action’, even though this could result in substantial casualties on the front lines. Trump is innately concerned about the suffering caused by uncontrolled slaughter of so many innocent soldiers, and therefore humanity needs to stop this mad carnage. Although this topic comes up often during his presidency, both critics and the mainstream media usually ignore it.

But the malaise caused by TDS European style goes deeper. TDS occurs due to the persistent decline of Western Civilisation. European society has experienced declining stability, prosperity, and social responsibility since the second world war, which is evident in the erosion of the values that previously upheld it. These values are weakening, and in some cases, they are even collapsing entirely. In contrast, this decline has occurred more gradually in the United States, and it may seem that the Trump presidency has slowed or even reversed the process. In Europe, the disentanglement of God and society, resulting in a secular godless society, the destruction of people’s cultural roots by uncontrolled immigration, failure to respect the rule of law by creating a two-tier judicial system, and criminalisation of free speech, are responsible for this dreadful situation.

While I dislike the idea that Europe is a lost continent – there is still a hope to reclaim our heritage – the presence of the TDS syndrome European style is concerning and calls for rational debate, courage, and critical thinking.