Over 48 hours have passed since a Russian drone struck a residential building in Galați, a city in Romania with almost 300,000 inhabitants, and neither the US president nor any other White House representative, even of lower rank, have issued any message of support for our country.
Instead, Vladimir Putin spoke.
Located 100 kilometers from Izmail, Ukraine, it remains a mystery why Galați was targeted by a Russian drone and why the Romanian military authorities did not shoot it down.
The incident highlights the huge vulnerability of national defense systems, as well as the eastern flank of NATO, totally unprepared to face the threats of Vladimir Putin.
A few days before the security crisis in Galați, a heated debate took place in our country about the Small Modular Reactors Project at Doicești, a USA-Romania partnership.
The discussion, quickly politicized, revolved around whether the authorities in Bucharest should invest between 6 and 7 billion euros in this project or focus on completing reactors 3 and 4 at Cernavodă.
Several voices in the public opinion supporting the project argued that the investment must be made to strengthen the "strategic partnership" with the USA.
However, it is hard for an objective observer not to notice that since Donald Trump's return to the White House, there is no longer any "strategic partnership" between the USA and Romania.
Hostility towards Romania
The US president is perfectly aligned with Vladimir Putin and, in a year and a half since taking office, has done everything possible to weaken the NATO alliance and create a context favorable to a Russian victory in Ukraine.
To refresh memories, here are a few examples regarding the state of the strategic partnership: JD Vance harshly criticized Romania at the Munich Security Conference, just after our country had been the victim of a hybrid attack by the Kremlin, derailing the electoral process at the end of 2024.
Moreover, the Pentagon withdrew over 1,000 troops from Romania, in the context of a war on the border that represents an existential threat to NATO and the European Union.
Let's also mention the blocking of the Visa Waiver program, without any official explanation, shortly after Donald Trump took office as the US president, even though Romania had met all the conditions, and the former administration had approved the procedure.
Since 1990, no American administration has been as hostile to Romania as Donald Trump's. It's not about the sane people in the US Congress, the State Department, or even personalities in the business sector who have invested in our country, but only about the extremely visible attitude of the American president, although no one talks about it.
This hostility has a logical, documented, and unpleasant explanation - Trump's alignment with Putin's interests.
Pro-American Puppets at the Kremlin's Behest
A strong argument for the above statement is the speed with which the Kremlin's influence networks in Romania transitioned from attacks and propaganda against the USA, manifested during the period when the Joe Biden administration was massively aiding Ukrainians with arms and money, publicly condemning Vladimir Putin for invading the neighboring country, to the fake pro-Americanism displayed upon Donald Trump's return to the White House.
From political figures like Victor Ponta or George Simion to the latest pro-Russian propagandists who have infected social networks, all have overnight become great supporters of America.
But the litmus test of hypocrisy has also revealed how contaminated Romania's institutions and agencies are with individuals manipulated by the Kremlin.
Since Trump's return to the White House, several official channels have been promoting the message of the "importance of the strategic partnership" in society.
Furthermore, Romania's political elite has begun to bow before the new American administration, begging for a sign of goodwill from the most corrupt American president since World War II. Of course, the sign has not come.
If it ever comes, it will only be when Donald Trump no longer has any influence in American politics, neutralized by the midterm elections in November, trying to show that he still has a say and someone listens to him. In reality, this would mean a new humiliation for Romania.
Problems for Trump and Putin
The strategic partnership with the USA ended the moment Donald Trump officially began his second term as US president.
It should not be forgotten that Romania was among the few European states that decided to assist the USA in the conflict with Iran, providing, without conditions, airspace, military bases, and offering all the material and logistic support necessary for the airstrikes against Tehran.
The decision of Parliament in March was a good one, showing that our country respects its obligations and attachment to the USA, but that does not mean that Donald Trump does not have a hostile attitude towards Romania, one that he hardly conceals.
"Who in Romania says this is a Russian drone?... No one can determine the origin as long as an examination of this device is not carried out...", Vladimir Putin declared a few hours after the explosion in Galați.
The Kremlin leader reacted swiftly, setting the tone for pro-Russians in Romania who flooded social networks with conspiracy theories, each more idiotic than the other.
But despite all the vulnerabilities shown by NATO and the European Union in the past four years, since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, neither Putin nor Trump are feeling too good.
The former is tormented by Ukrainian drones that have been systematically destroying refineries within a 1,000-kilometer radius from the border. Currently, Kiev's forces have also taken control of the airspace over the main road link in southern Ukraine, under Russia's occupation, destroying vehicles transporting weapons, fuel, and supplies for the troops in the Kherson region and the northern part of the Crimean Peninsula.
Moreover, Russia has long lost control over the Black Sea cargo traffic, with Ukrainian aquatic drones destroying both the military fleet and Russia's oil tankers.
A Wrong Strategy
Although Donald Trump halted any military and financial aid to Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky managed to develop an entire defense industry, adapted to modern conflict, based on the support of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Australia, and other Western democracies.
The American president abandoned any diplomatic effort to achieve a ceasefire after repeated failures and a visible alignment with Russia.
Donald Trump's problems in the USA, in the context of the midterm elections in November, are hard to solve. With public support at a historic low and the first signs that he is losing control of the Republican Party, his political influence is in steep decline.
A potential, increasingly likely victory for the Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate would mean the end for Donald Trump, who would remain isolated in the White House, with the specter of impeachment hanging over him.
The strategy through which the presidency and the government seek to salvage the relationship with the White House has been and remains a wrong one, repeatedly putting Romania in humiliating situations.
Cultivating American political leaders, as well as those from other fields - investors, diplomats, experts - who truly believe in the strategic partnership between Romania and the USA should be the real objective of Bucharest, rather than continuing a fruitless fawning at Trump's feet.
Moreover, urgent political and diplomatic efforts are needed for our country to develop sustained military partnerships with Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic states, which understand best the aggression of Russia and the situation in the region.
Because Donald Trump does not believe in the strategic partnership, does not believe in NATO, does not care about Europe, and does everything to help his "friend," Vladimir Putin.