Portugal found itself thrust onto the frontlines of international debate this week after President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa made some of the most pointed remarks yet from a European leader about U.S. President Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia. The comments, delivered on August 27, 2025, at a youth event organized by his Social Democratic Party (PSD), sent shockwaves through diplomatic circles and dominated headlines across Europe and the United States.
“The supreme leader of the world’s greatest superpower is, objectively, a Soviet or Russian asset. He functions as an asset,” Rebelo de Sousa declared, according to the Portuguese-American Journal and Portugal Pulse. He didn’t mince words, accusing Trump of failing to enforce sanctions against Moscow and openly undermining Ukraine’s leadership in a way that has been “strategically favorable” to Russia. The president’s criticism didn’t stop there. Rebelo de Sousa went on to warn that Europe had “underestimated the rise of ‘Trumpism,’” a political phenomenon he now sees as carrying grave consequences for European security.
Portuguese national broadcasters and international outlets alike seized on Rebelo de Sousa’s phrase “Trump is a Russian asset,” noting the unusual bluntness of a sitting head of state openly referring to a U.S. president as, in effect, an agent of a rival power. The statement, made at the PSD Summer University, was soon the talk of diplomatic corridors from Brussels to Washington. As of press time, there has been no official response from the White House or the Trump administration, but the reverberations are being felt nonetheless.
Rebelo de Sousa, who has served as President of Portugal since 2016, is no stranger to frank and sometimes unconventional public remarks. Yet even by his standards, this was a dramatic escalation. The president’s comments were not limited to Trump’s rhetoric; he argued that Trump’s actions—especially his foreign policy moves—have “strategically benefited the Russian Federation.” Rebelo de Sousa specifically referenced Trump’s approach to the war in Ukraine, where he claimed Russia is reaping the rewards of the American president’s “unorthodox” leadership style.
“I am stating that, objectively, the new American leadership has strategically benefited the Russian Federation,” Rebelo de Sousa reiterated, as quoted by the Portugal Pulse. His remarks came in the wake of Trump’s controversial decision to host a summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin—a move that critics argue gave undue legitimacy to Moscow at a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains a flashpoint for European security.
The Portuguese president’s allegations are not without precedent in U.S. political discourse, but it is rare for a foreign head of state to voice them so directly. Former FBI official Andrew McCabe, whom Trump fired during his first term, commented in 2024 that while he would not characterize Trump as an “active, recruited, knowing asset in the way that people in the intelligence community think of that term,” he does believe Trump’s behavior raises “significant questions.” As McCabe told The Guardian, “Donald Trump has given us many reasons to question his approach to the Russia problem in the United States, and I think his approach to interacting with Vladimir Putin, be it phone calls, face-to-face meetings, the things that he has said in public about Putin, all raise significant questions.”
Back in Brussels, the response to Russian aggression was just as forceful—if not more so. On August 28, 2025, European Council President António Costa, himself a former Portuguese Prime Minister, condemned a wave of Russian missile strikes on Kyiv that damaged civilian areas and the offices of the EU delegation in Ukraine’s capital. Costa described the attack as “deliberate” and said he was “horrified” by the targeting of civilian infrastructure. “The EU will not be intimidated. Russia’s aggression only strengthens our resolve to stand with Ukraine and its people,” Costa declared, as reported by the Portuguese-American Journal.
Costa’s statement came on the heels of earlier comments this year in which he expressed frustration with Moscow’s unwillingness to engage in meaningful peace efforts. He has insisted that Europe must play the central role in shaping its own security architecture—a stance that has gained urgency as the war in Ukraine drags on and as doubts about American leadership grow among some European policymakers.
The remarks from both Rebelo de Sousa and Costa underscore a growing unease in Europe over U.S.–Russia dynamics. Rebelo de Sousa’s language reflects an erosion of confidence in Trump’s willingness or ability to counter Moscow, while Costa’s condemnation of the missile strikes reinforces the European Union’s determination to resist intimidation and defend Ukraine.
António Costa, who took up his role as President of the European Council in 2024, now represents the EU on major diplomatic and security issues. His leadership has been marked by a more assertive stance towards Russia, and his comments this week only solidified that approach. “Russia’s aggression only strengthens our resolve to stand with Ukraine and its people,” Costa said, echoing a sentiment that has become increasingly common among European officials.
The international media’s amplification of Rebelo de Sousa’s and Costa’s remarks is more than a passing storm; it points to a deeper anxiety about the future of transatlantic relations and the stability of the European security order. While some European leaders have sought to downplay tensions with Washington, others now openly question whether the United States can be relied upon to uphold its traditional role as a bulwark against Russian expansionism.
For many in Portugal, the president’s statements are a reflection of both frustration and concern. Rebelo de Sousa’s warning that Europe underestimated “Trumpism” is a call to action for European nations to take their own security more seriously. Yet his bluntness has also sparked debate about whether such public accusations help or hinder Europe’s ability to navigate an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape.
Meanwhile, the debate over Trump’s approach to Russia shows no signs of abating. While there is no definitive evidence that Trump is a Russian agent, as former FBI official Andrew McCabe noted, his actions and statements continue to fuel speculation and concern on both sides of the Atlantic. The controversy over the Alaska summit with Putin is just the latest in a series of events that have led critics to question the direction of American foreign policy under Trump’s leadership.
As Europe grapples with the fallout from Russian aggression in Ukraine and shifting dynamics in Washington, the words of Portugal’s president and the EU’s top official serve as a stark reminder: the stakes are high, and the world is watching. Whether these warnings will prompt a recalibration of policy on either side of the Atlantic remains to be seen, but for now, Portugal’s leaders have made it clear—they believe the old certainties can no longer be taken for granted.
