Decoding the news. The Italian Democratic Party is trying to think beyond Donald Trump without ignoring what his return says about America.
- That was the underlying message of a recent discussion promoted by Demo, the foundation chaired by Gianni Cuperlo, which brought together scholars, journalists and U.S. observers, including Nathalie Tocci, Antonio Monda, Giovanna Botteri, Alberto Melloni and Mario Del Pero.
- The focus was not simply Trump’s presidency, but the deeper transformation of American society that made Trumpism durable — and what that means for Europe’s relationship with the United States.
The interview. Speaking to Formiche.net, Piero Fassino, Democratic Party MP and vice president of the Italian Chamber’s Defence Committee, framed the issue as both political and strategic: Europe needs to understand the roots of Trump’s appeal, but it also needs to keep investing in the transatlantic relationship, especially with the part of America that remains committed to liberal democracy and the Western alliance.
- For Fassino, Trump’s rise cannot be explained as a sudden rupture. It was prepared by a longer erosion of economic security and middle-class confidence, beginning with the 2008–2009 financial crisis.
- “The housing bubble devastated millions of American families,” he said, noting that many households had built their stability around rising property values and access to credit. When that system collapsed, “a significant part of the middle class suddenly found itself in a condition of economic and social insecurity.”
- Trump, Fassino argued, was able to turn that discontent into a political identity. He first did so in 2016, presenting himself as the voice of the “forgotten,” and then expanded that coalition in the most recent election cycle.
- The point, in Fassino’s reading, is not to excuse Trumpism, but to understand why it keeps resonating. “The crisis of the American middle class produced insecurity, fear of social decline and distrust toward traditional elites,” he said. “Trump’s narrative entered precisely into that vacuum.”
But America is not moving in one direction. Fassino also sees signs of a growing reaction against Trump’s agenda. He pointed to the recent Senate vote on a measure that would have required congressional authorisation before any further acts of war — a motion that failed by a single vote, with three Republican senators siding with Democrats.
- He also cited the large demonstrations seen in recent months, Democratic and progressive victories in cities and states, and polling that, in his view, shows a majority of Americans do not support Trump’s policies.
- Taken together, Fassino argued, these signals suggest a more fluid political landscape than the White House’s posture might imply. The 2026 midterm elections, he said, could become a turning point.
Why Europe should care. For Fassino, the transatlantic relationship remains essential — but it cannot simply be restored to its previous form. “Strategic does not mean unchanged,” he said. Trump has “seriously damaged” relations between Europe and the United States, and repairing them will require political, cultural and diplomatic work on both sides of the Atlantic.
- That effort, however, also depends on Europe. Fassino argued that the European Union must strengthen its profile as a political actor, not merely an economic bloc. Only a more balanced relationship, he said, can give new substance to an alliance operating in a “global and plural” world.
- That, he added, was the deeper purpose of the Demo foundation’s initiative: to think about how to relaunch a connection between Europe and democratic America, rather than treating the transatlantic bond as a relic of a previous era.
The Democratic Party’s line. This is also where Italy’s Democratic Party wants to position itself. Fassino said the PD considers it essential to reinforce ties among the Party of European Socialists, the U.S. Democratic Party and Italy’s own centre-left. Party leader Elly Schlein, he noted, has already made that point explicitly.
- The transatlantic bond, in this reading, is not only a matter of political affinity. It is also part of a broader strategy to contain destabilising pressure from Russia and China.
- “Defending that relationship means defending a democratic global balance that is now seriously under strain,” Fassino said.
- The message from Italy’s Democrats is therefore twofold: Trumpism must be studied, not dismissed; and the answer is not strategic disengagement from the United States, but a deliberate effort to rebuild the Atlantic relationship with the America that Europe still sees as its closest political partner.
