To better understand the largest threat to the relationship between Europe and America since their alliance emerged after the Second World War, I recently spoke by phone with Ivan Krastev, an expert on European politics and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences, in Vienna. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed how the European far right is navigating threats from its ally in the White House, what this potential break between Europe and America could mean for China’s global influence, possible off-ramps that could calm the situation, and the dangers of a normally distractible Trump becoming hyper-focussed on Greenland.