Donald Trump criticises EU after $140m fine on Musk’s X platform: Video
US President Donald Trump has sharply criticised the European Union after regulators imposed a $140 million fine on Elon Musk’s X platform, accusing the bloc of moving in “very bad directions.”
Speaking during a cabinet roundtable in Washington, DC, on Monday, December 8, Trump described the penalty as “a nasty one,” adding that Musk had not reached out to him for assistance.
“They’re doing a lot of things. We want to keep Europe – Europe. Europe is going in some bad directions. It’s very bad. Very bad for the people. We don’t want Europe to change so much,” he said.
The remarks come as the White House on Friday released an updated National Security Strategy warning that Europe faced “civilisational erasure” amid rising migration, and accusing the EU of engaging in “censorship.”
EU regulators said X’s paid blue verification ticks were “deceptive,” alleging that the platform failed to properly verify users, lacked transparency on advertising practices, and refused to provide researchers access to key data.
The dispute escalated over the weekend when Musk likened the EU to a “Fourth Reich,” suggesting the bloc should be dismantled and sovereignty returned to member states. X has since blocked EU institutions from purchasing ads on the platform.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the EU’s actions, calling the fine “an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.”
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
