FOR EUROPE, the shocks came in quick and bewildering succession. First Pete Hegseth, America’s defence secretary, told America’s allies that his country was no longer the “primary guarantor” of European security. Hours later Donald Trump said he would open talks with Russia over the head of Ukraine and Europe. Then on February 14th, at the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering, J.D. Vance, the vice-president (pictured), unleashed a stinging attack on Europe, in effect backing the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, nine days before the country’s election. After looking to America as its ally for decades, many leaders and officials wondered whether Europe’s security was crumbling in front of their eyes.