Since when did AUR come to feel embarrassed by Donald Trump’s warlike impulses?
A month or so ago, George Simion was cutting a cake in the shape of Greenland, at a MAGA party in the USA, a sweet sign of his support for President Trump’s attempt to annex the Danish island.
Two months ago, Petrișor Peiu, AUR’s omnipresent communicator, had no problem with Trump’s operation in Venezuela, the kidnapping of Maduro, an operation involving bombings and commando troops.
Indeed, Peiu was clear how Bucharest should position itself – closely united with Washington: “Romania has a strategic partnership with the US. As such, its positions should be in line with this partnership.”
And a few days ago, back in the USA, along with far right leaders, George Simion pointed out two things about the Epic Fury operation:
- He said that we need peace, but the real need is one of “peace by force” – parroting what Donald Trump says to sell his wars to his electoral base.
- And Simion called the Spanish prime minister’s decision to deny access to US troops to Spanish military bases for the attack on Iran: “I have seen the example of Spain in the last two days and I could have told you many years ago that Pedro Sánchez and the Spanish government are against America, they are against President Donald Trump; such governments exist all over Europe. We have to separate good from evil” (Source: Romania TV). It should be noted however that, in Romania, George Simion avoided commenting on the war in the first days – probably for fear of whipping up AUR voters, who see Simion as the man of peace and also when he’s in the US, pro-Trump praising Trump’s war and accusing Spain – probably to please the US president.
- Take all these positions – on Greenland, Venezuela, Iran – and compare them with the circus made by AUR MPs, including George Simion, at Wednesday’s parliament vote on allowing US to use the Mihail Kogalniceanu base.
Probably because the audience was local, AUR and Simion stealthily changed their position demonizing the Supreme Defense Council’s decision to approve the US request to deploy defensive capabilities in Romania for the American war effort in Iran.
In the democratic world, only Donald Trump lies to his own audience in the blatant way which George Simion and his party colleagues did on Wednesday.
In America, people are beginning to understand what their president really is.
Probably such a moment of truth will come here too, as Simion and AUR find themselves in an impossible situation as a result of the perverse political concubinage they have with the MAGA-Trump group.
As for the position taken on Wednesday by the Romanian state on the US request to have (limited) access to Romanian bases, things are clear. Romania is helping its strategic partner at a crucial point and in conditions that will eventually strengthen (given the context) Romania’s national security.
The clarity of this was underlined by former President Traian Basescu, who is the most most familiar with the nuances of the Romania-US strategic partnership, Romania’s national security imperatives, and the current situation in Washington.
It is worth remembering these two lines from Basescu:
- “Trump is looking for allies. Caught in the oil trap of the war with Iran, Donald Trump discovered he might need Romania after in 2025 he withdrew, to the joy of his friend Vladimir Putin, most of the military from Mihail Kogălniceanu base and in Munich, his trumpet Vance humiliated Romania. Today it seems the US needs the base in Kogălniceanu.”
- “Based on this agreement, the U.S. Army will receive access to Kogălniceanu. And that’s not because Trump needs it, but because our ally, America, needs it. Given the dynamics of events in the Middle East, President Dan, Romania, must act quickly, without procrastination or hesitation. The businessman Trump, however, needs to find out that access to Kogălniceanu for operations in the Middle East costs.”
This is the reality.
- Romania really helps the US, and not Trump – as the relationship with Washington is essential for Bucharest, just as it is essential for the other European countries that are our allies.
- The strategic relationship between Romania and the US predates Trump, and if managed responsibly it will last long beyond the Trump era.
- By February 28, 2026, Donald Trump had offended and caused significant damage to U.S. allies. He had even thrown his own country into a spiral of political-economic insecurity and instability. Any contribution America’s allies can make to slowing down and stopping this spiral is primarily in their own interests.
- Because, the war in Iran has not only thrown America but the whole world into chaos, from China to Romania, Germany to Canada, Brazil to Lebanon. Any small gesture that can contribute to the restoration of peace needs to be done.
- Finally, it is expected, and not just hoped for, that Bucharest will make the American president pay, without blinking. In the relationship with Romania, Donald Trump has not only been dishonest, but has sabotaged: a few months ago, he decided to reduce the American military presence in our country; he imposed tariffs; he undermined an essential pillar of Romania’s development (the European Union); and is trying to destabilize our country, through the support his administration provides to pro-Russian extremists who have now turned their back on him. The same Donald Trump, through his policy towards Ukraine and Russia, has only strengthened the aggressor in the Russian-Ukrainian war that is being waged on Romania’s borders. A victory for the aggressor would be a disaster for Romanians. For all this, Bucharest must send Washington a bill. The way the war in Iran is going means even Romanians have more cards in their hands than the current Trump administration.
Finally, the Romanian Presidency should now give up from now on the unworthy option of getting chummy with the US leader, illustrated by the recent presence of Nicușor Dan at the Board of Peace.
Washington is making enough mistakes so that Bucharest no longer has to play the role of the poor country cousin.
- PS: A year ago I wrote that Trumpism is unexpected bad luck for our “sovereignists” (and not just ours. Trump’s monumental blunder in Iran exposes this reality.
- Of course, as far as our “sovereignists” are concerned, their difficulties in positioning themselves on the US request to deploy military hardware on Romanian bases can be found in their real masters, Russia. From Wednesday’s circus in Parliament, the only one to benefit was Moscow, with AUR and Simion serving up the Kremlin’s propaganda.
- Speaking of Moscow, Volodymyr Zelensky comes to Bucharest on Thursday. Already AUR and Simion are throwing around invectives against Ukraine and its president. The local “sovereignists” are doing a disservice to their own country, given that Ukraine’s experience and expertise in territorial defense and in the anti-drone war are world-class. The knowledge acquired in the last four years by Ukraine is today desperately sought by the US and Gulf countries (for example, Saudi Arabia is ready to pay big money for consultancy and equipment, there is talk of a “huge deal“).
- For any state interested in strengthening its own security, the relationship with Ukraine has become, especially after February 28, a strategic objective. The political forces and political leaders who continue to endanger or alter the development potential of Romania’s relationship with Ukraine are simply playing into the enemy’s hands – from Moscow to Tehran.
