Ah, the moral superiority of the sophisticated Europeans, ever eager to point out the ignorance of the rubes across the Atlantic:

Mr. Trump, during his campaign, said that Belgium was a village somewhere in Europe… We must teach the President-elect what Europe is and how it works… I believe we'll have two years of wasted time while Mr. Trump tours a world he doesn't know.

Thus spake Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission.  Monsieur Juncker is from Luxembourg – isn’t that the chic ristorante we dined at on the Via Montenapoleone?  Or a bordel off the Champs-Élysées?  It all blends together.

But it’s always bracing to be instructed by our betters.  In the spirit of reciprocity, when Messrs. Trump and Juncker meet, perhaps Mr. Trump could school M. Juncker on trade: in 2015, we ran a $153-billion deficit with the EU.  Sounds like the punchline of une blague amusante, yes, M. Juncker?  Just a little something the president of the European Commission might meditate on in his quiet moments.

Then there is the matter of defining the cost of membership in NATO.  Politifact summarizes the problem neatly: “NATO has common military expenses on the order of $2 billion a year. The U.S. share of that is about 22 percent. But those dollars exclude the vast spending it takes to sustain American forces, equipment and bases across Europe.”  In other words, no one knows what it costs to defend Europe, but whatever the number, it’s yuge!  Perhaps M. Juncker could enlighten us.

Henry Percy is the nom de guerre of a writer in Arizona.  He may be reached at saler.50d[at]gmail.com.