A US security blunder, in which a journalist was added to a supposedly top secret chat group of senior White House officials, speaks volumes to the outside world about how the Trump administration works – but perhaps most notably that what JD Vance, Pete Hegseth and others say in public, they say in private too.
Friends and foes alike will not have failed to notice the contempt expressed by Vance for Europe in the leaked messages. It will merely confirm suspicions that the US leadership can no longer be trusted, and the instinct now for many countries must be to try to forge away from the old ally.
Could Europe really go it alone without America? The stream of insults, tariffs, threatened land grabs and the US distancing from Nato are are one thing. But in terms of culture, economics, diplomatic affairs and defence, how straightforward would it be to decouple – and would the outcomes really be for the better?
Emma Graham-Harrison, Vanessa Thorpe and Phillip Inman weigh up the pros and cons of unravelling the ties that bind Europe to America. And from Washington, Andrew Roth examines how the White House leak reveals the depths of the Trump administration’s loathing of Europe.
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Five essential reads in this week’s edition
Spotlight | How the world forgot about Sudan
As territory is won and lost by opposing military forces, people grasp at scraps of normality. But the country is undergoing the world’s most severe humanitarian catastrophe, reports Mark Townsend from Khartoum
Science | The moral question of prolonging a pet’s life
Many cat or dog owners would happily pay for medicines that help their four-legged friends to live longer, and the biotech industry is cashing in. But is it the right thing to do? Joel Snape investigates
Interview | Amanda Knox: ‘This is my story’
Ten years ago, the American was f inally cleared of the brutal murder of her housemate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. But is Amanda Knox really free? She talks to Simon Hattenstone
Opinion | The broken bond between Canada and the US
With the US president now warmer to Moscow than to Ottawa, it’s little surprise the Canadians Andy Beckett met on a recent visit rolled their eyes at the decline of the special relationship
Culture | Reappraising the reputation of Paul Gauguin
The French artist has been tarred as a colonialist who gave syphilis to underage girls in the South Seas. But author Sue Prideaux has made discoveries that challenge this picture
What else we’ve been reading
This adventure in shopping for a kitchen knife came too late in my search for a new set for my newly moved daughter, but it explained why the feel of a good bit of kitchen kit is so important. Isobel Montgomery, deputy editor
A row has erupted over the UK chancellor Rachel Reeves supposedly having to accept £600 pop concert tickets “for security purposes”. In a time of draconian budget cuts, Zoe Williams asks if it’s right that a finance minister should accept such freebies – or even be going to concerts at all? Graham Snowdon, editor
Other highlights from the Guardian website
Audio | Who is the real JD Vance?
Video | The Black Panther Cubs: when the revolution doesn’t come
Gallery | Catholic tattoos in the Philippines
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