Press in Belgium, the United Kingdom and Turkey sees a harder Trump abroad after a defeat

In several media outlets outside the US, a further line emerges on the day before the congressional election. A Republican defeat would not only do little to slow President Trump, it could even make him harder abroad. The reports rely mainly on anonymous sources and on reporting by other media, not on their own editorials.

Belgium. The newspaper DH reports that Europe fears becoming the target of Trump's anger. It cites conversations Politico had with five NATO diplomats. The fears are a further withdrawal of US soldiers from Europe after a review by December, lower contributions to NATO and limits on the PURL programme, through which allies buy US weapons for Ukraine. One diplomat says Trump will “show himself to be very tough” (DH, Camille Gnonsian, 2 November 2026, 10:50). The White House contradicts this there: Trump has done more for NATO than anyone else.

United Kingdom. IBTimes UK reports on the same concerns among NATO diplomats. Montenegro's defence minister Dragan Krapović is quoted by name. There is much speculation about a US withdrawal, but that has “not happened so far”, and Congress decides on troop withdrawals (IBTimes UK, 2 November 2026, 12:11 CET).

Turkey. Hürriyet, citing the British Telegraph and anonymous sources, reports on plans in the White House to govern more without Congress if it is lost, for example with new tariffs and stricter visa rules. According to Hürriyet, a White House spokeswoman calls this a false narrative (Hürriyet, 2 November 2026, 5:58 CET).

Middle East. Euronews in Arabic, citing the Wall Street Journal and the Israeli newspaper Ynet, reports that Israel is preparing for a renewed confrontation with Iran immediately after the US election. Saudi Arabia has asked the US to postpone an attack (Euronews, Chaima Chihi, 1 November 2026, 9:45 CET).

All texts reflect fears and reports, not decisions. The earlier press review on the expectation that a defeat will do little to slow Trump is under Reports. The forecasts for both chambers are on the Senate and House of Representatives pages.