A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Many European leaders have experience dealing with President-elect Donald Trump, and it wasn't all good. He's famously critical of both the European Union and NATO. So how is Europe preparing for his return to the White House? Reporter Teri Schultz joins us now from Brussels. So how was the Trump reelection scene there where you are in Brussels, Teri?
TERI SCHULTZ, BYLINE: Good morning, A. Well, there are always policy differences between Europe and the United States, but Donald Trump has definitely taken this to a new level. He's recently said, for example, that allies often treat the U.S. worse than those he referred to as so-called enemies. So naturally, here in Europe, that was interpreted as referring to them and to Russia. So they're bracing for possibly massive trade tariffs on European imports. He's also said Russian President Vladimir Putin should do, quote, "whatever he wants" to NATO allies with low military spending. So nerves are definitely on edge here.
MARTÍNEZ: So should I presume there weren't many champagne corks being popped in Europe when the final results came out?
SCHULTZ: Well, it was well into morning by then here, but I guess a lot of people were drinking, A, and not in celebration.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter) OK.
SCHULTZ: This election is going to have a big impact, and not just on policies, but also on the political dynamics in Europe. Here's how European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen responded to the election results rather tersely...
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URSULA VON DER LEYEN: Let me take the opportunity to again congratulate Donald J. Trump for his clear victory. I'm looking forward to working with him again to strengthen the transatlantic bond.
SCHULTZ: ...Not so enthusiastically, as you hear. So she's very much worried that the transatlantic bond could be in real trouble now.
MARTÍNEZ: But it's not like Trump has no friends in Europe at all. I mean, is there anyone supporting him?
SCHULTZ: Well, there aren't many of them who openly did so before the election anyway. But there's one notable exception, and that's Hungary's authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He has a very close relationship with Donald Trump. And Orban is often an outcast among his EU counterparts because, for example, he refuses to cooperate on migration. He's opposed to supporting Ukraine. Here's Orban's reaction to Trump's victory, heard here through an interpreter.
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PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBAN: (Through interpreter) They wanted to put him in jail. They wanted to confiscate his assets. They wanted to kill him. And today, he is the president of the United States. And I am always proud to be fighting together with those who are trying to represent people against the elite in power. This is democracy.
SCHULTZ: Orban, by the way, A, says he drank vodka to celebrate what he called his joy at the election outcome.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. Now, as you mentioned, this is not just about trade and interpersonal relationships. How Trump handles Russia and Ukraine will directly affect European security.
SCHULTZ: Yeah, that's the concern, for sure. Aid to Ukraine, which Trump threatens to cut off, and empowering Russia are definitely seen as direct security threats here. And it's clear new NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who has a good relationship with Trump, is working hard to keep it.
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MARK RUTTE: It was really a huge success for him, including capturing the House and the Senate. I look forward to work with him again. When he was president, he was the one in NATO who stimulated us to move over the 2%. I think very much that is his doing, his success, and we need to do more.
SCHULTZ: So that extreme flattery may rub some people the wrong way, but it could be Europeans' best survival tactic for the next four years, A.
MARTÍNEZ: Teri Schultz reporting from Brussels. Thanks, Teri.
SCHULTZ: You're welcome.
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