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Do American on The Motte feel that the country is generally in favour of breaking from its old European alliances? I am not sure I have got that sense when visiting but I've visited only fairly D-leaning areas in recent years.
From the British/European point of view, one has the sense from current reporting that a significant rebalancing is happening, one that I would characterise as going beyond wanting to reduce American spending on e.g. Ukraine, and towards decisively breaking with European countries out of gut dislike, and beginning instead to form either a US-Russian alliance of sympathies, or if not that, then at least a relationship with Russia that is rhetorically much friendlier than that with Europe. I think the fear is starting to take root in Europe that the US would effectively switch sides in return for Russia granting it mineral rights in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. This heel turn seems unlikely, but things are murky enough that it is worrying people.
I feel that this rebalancing is already working in a way towards achieving stated Trump goals – it certainly is succeeding in restoring Europe's appetite for military spending (underinvestment here is one thing Trump has been consistently right about but European leaders have buried their heads in the sand on, hoping he'd go away). But the current situation re Ukraine is also sending confusing signals, as it had previously seemed as though the US wanted Europe to step up and be part of a solution for Ukraine, whereas currently it seems they actively want to stop Europe from having a role in peace talks. The motive for this appears to be stopping Europe from asking terms of Russia that would delay a solution the US and Russia find jointly satisfactory, though perhaps there is more going on beneath the surface.
I did not have the impression that the American population generally has gone through this kind of Europe->Russia realignment in their hearts, Russians still being a regular foil for the good guys in movies (said movies coming from liberal-leaning Hollywood, sure). I have the impression that moving towards Russia is an aspect of foreign policy that Trump has not built domestic support for. But maybe this is wrong. Maybe the average American now thinks not only "Europe should contribute more to solve their own defence problems", but furthermore, "Europe should get its nose out of international affairs and attempt to help only when it's spoken to. We, Russia and China are in charge now."
I'm writing this without especially detailed knowledge of foreign policy, but I'm more interested here in the emotional calibration of ordinary Americans generally. What outcomes would they accept, what outcomes are they afraid of, who do they feel warm to and who not, and to what extent do they feel entirely insulated from global events, alliances and enmities?
I think the perception of a turn towards Russia rests almost entirely on Trump being a Putin simp. While this sort of thing might be damaging to long-term US relations with allies (hard to count on a senior partner that elects a mad king at regular intervals), it's not a stable relationship in that it hinges almost entirely on Trump's personal affinity. While there are elements of the American
fascpost-liberal populist right who view Russia as an ally against liberalism, they generally lack popular credibility (and keep getting caught taking money from Russia). Any alignment between the US and Russia dies with Trump, and even while Trump is in office he'll be fighting his own party.The primary effect (and in my more paranoid moments, the goal) will be to shred the US' network of alliances.
Per above, I think this loosely summarizes the view inside the Trump administration. However, most Americans don't think about foreign policy that much or that deeply. A lot of Americans love flashy, muscular actions, but it's not tied to a coherent view of foreign policy. Kicking ass and taking names good, getting sneered at by the French bad. Your average American probably thinks the Europeans should shut up, but more in a "pull your weight or stop complaining" sense than a "know your place" attitude.
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