For decades, Europe has assumed the U.S. would always be there to pick up the slack. But those days are over. Trump's administration openly questions NATO’s role and views American involvement in European security with skepticism. Europe must now confront a new reality: it can no longer sit back, assuming the U.S. will handle its defense. Now is the time to act. Some in Europe may feel isolated in the challenge of supporting Ukraine, but this view underestimates Europe’s own strength. The European Union is the world’s largest trading bloc, one of the top three global economies, and home to four of the 10 largest economies on the planet. Russia, by comparison, ranks as the world’s 11th largest economy — its size comparable to Italy, with Spain not far behind.