Polls on the 2024 U.S. presidential race are not only being closely followed in the United States — they are also being monitored by countless politicians all around Europe. And according to The Atlantic's McKay Coppins, some European officials are really worried about what they're seeing in polls.
Polls have been showing a close race, with former President Donald Trump slightly ahead in some national polls and incumbent President Joe Biden slightly ahead in others. Trump, however, has had small single-digit leads over Biden in many polls for key swing states such as Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia.
Coppins, in an article published on June 3, reports, "In capitals across the continent — from Brussels to Berlin, Warsaw to Tallinn — leaders and diplomats expressed a sense of alarm bordering on panic at the prospect of Donald Trump's reelection…. Fear of losing Europe's most powerful ally has translated into a pathologically intense fixation on the U.S. presidential race. European officials can explain the Electoral College in granular detail and cite polling data from battleground states."
READ MORE: Trump attorney tried to kill latest legal bombshell: report
Coppins interviewed some European officials for his article, and a recurring theme is a "current of dread" over the possibility of Trump returning to the White House in January 2025.
Thomas Bagger of the German Foreign Ministry told Coppins, "The only election all Europeans are interested in is the American election."
Similarly, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NAT0) official, presumably interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Coppins, "We're in a very precarious place" — referring to Trump's threat to withdraw the U.S. from the alliance.
Biden has made a concerted effort to strength NATO — and even expand it.
READ MORE:The evangelical pastor waging an aggressive pro-Trump campaign in the Black community
But former U.S. State Department official Victoria Nuland told Coppins, "The anxiety is massive…. Foreign counterparts would say it to me straight up: 'The first Trump election — maybe people didn't understand who he was, or it was an accident. A second election of Trump? We'll never trust you again.'"
READ MORE:Revealed: Trump witnesses received financial benefits from his businesses and campaign
Read McKay Coppins' full report for The Atlantic at this link (subscription required).