European officials are having a collective breakdown over the imminent reality of Brexit. From playing hardball in negotiations with London to threatening Eurosceptic groups across the continent, Brussels is losing its mind as individual nation states reassert their autonomy and part ways with a supranational overlord. The disintegration of the EU coincides with the rise of populist figures on both sides of the Atlantic. The election of Donald Trump may indeed portend the success of other ideological fellow travelers, including France’s Marine Le Pen. Unsurprisingly, European officials are lashing out with threats in the face of the coming populist storm sweeping the continent.
Less than one day after the U.K. made Brexit official with the triggering of Article 50, the president of the executive arm of the European Union decided to unload his anger on … America. Because why not?
Threatening to tear apart the United States state-by-state, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker stated that if President Trump continues to oppose the EU, he’s “going to promote the independence of Ohio and Austin, Texas, in the United States of America.”
How delightful. Why not arm the rebels and restart the Civil War while you’re at it?
Juncker made the controversial comments at a conference for the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) in Malta.
Juncker and his lackeys in Brussels know full well that there’s nothing they could do to stop the United Kingdom from leaving Europe. The decision is final, no matter how much EU officials whine and moan.
And yet, Juncker couldn’t help but to make a fool of himself in public, giving false hope to desperate pro-Europe fanatics willing to do or say anything to prevent the inevitable fragmentation of the EU.
“Brexit isn’t the end. A lot of people would like it that way, even people on another continent where the newly-elected U.S. President was happy that the Brexit was taking place and has asked other countries to do the same,” Juncker squealed, before threatening to support independence movements in Ohio and Austin. (By the way, Ohio is a state and Austin a city, Mr. Juncker. If you’re going to issue farcical threats, at least know your geography).