During 2020, criticism of the U.S. government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis ran rampant in the media – but not only the American media. Critiques of the Trump Administration’s response to the pandemic filled the pages of leading news outlets around the world, including in those Western European countries with the largest populations and, historically, the strongest ties with America: the U.K., France, and Germany.

David Weiss will explore the various forms, targets, styles, and sources of this surprisingly large body of international criticism. Additionally, in order to place our allies’ critiques in context, we take a few steps back and ask the following questions: What did European news media have to say about other major Donald Trump-related issues in 2020 (the presidential campaign; the election and its aftermath; social justice issues)? How did they treat Mr. Trump and his administration before 2020? How did they cover U.S. presidents, and their handling of U.S.-internal policy and political issues, prior to Trump?