It’s a great question. Honestly I don’t think there was a way to get Europe to act on its defense without this type of behavior (the fact that a president has to be this stupid and obnoxious is a sad fact for all of us to ponder). In the end, I’m not sure it’s even good for America not to have Europe dependent on the US but it’s pretty clear they weren’t ever going to do it. They bitched and moaned about Obama pivoting to Asia. Same for Trump and Biden. There strategy has always been wait this president or that president out. Even now they still aren’t doing what is needed. Some are but most aren’t.