Europeans’ reaction to Trump is characterized by haughtiness that they cannot afford. They regard and treat Trump as a mix between a child and someone retarded. A former civil servant in Norway’s Foreign Office, Iver B. Neumann, currently leder of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute – was asked on state radio  what Trump’s policy on Ukraine was likely to be, and he answered that it depends on who Trump spoke to last or what was said on TV. In other words he is impulsive as a child, not capable of forming his own opinions. This feeds into the mythology that Democratic politicians and liberal media in the US have been feeding us for years: Trump is a dangerous person.

Only – a small country like Norway cannot afford to be so careless with their relationship to the new president. Trump will be powerful, and he comes with a strong mandate at the right moment, both in Ukraine and the Middle East. But the press treats Trump like he was Biden: They did not report on Biden’s gaffes, his many vacations and lax routines. They did not report when he started wandering off. They were lojal sycophants.

Now all their condesension is turned on Trump. It not only looks stupid, it demonstrates that Norwegians are pharocial, has lost their grips on important matters.

We are being told that Mark Rutte got along very well with Trump as prime minister of the Netherlands and thus is well equipped to deal with him now as general secretary of Nato. Stoltenberg was admired for the same reason: He managed to cajole Trump into remaining in Nato and play along. Rutte just visited Trump in Florida and that is a good thing Mr. Neumann said: All diplomacy starts by talking. They treat Trump as if he were Putin. Olaf Scholz was scolded for telephoning Putin. They hadn’t spoken for two years.

Trump was portrayed as a bull in a china shop, someone they had to take by the hand. Stoltenberg managed that and now Rutte will be the horse whisperer.

There is a contempt at the bottom of this attitude that is revolting and this time around I think Americans will react. Insulting Trump is insulting America. Trump has become America. But they haven’t noticed.

They may pay a heavy price for that.