This is a post I should have written three weeks ago, right after returning from the MEGA (Make Europe Great Again) conference in Brussels, at the European Parliament.
I traveled to this meeting, sponsored by the ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists) Party, as a journalist and MAGA-supporting American patriot, to speak, as well as to interview as many of the dozens of stellar speakers, panelists, and freedom-loving patriots as possible. Up until I was invited to this Brussels conference, I did not know about the MEGA movement in Europe, or realize how widely President Trump’s MAGA message is spreading in Eastern and Western Europe, and even South America.
So much of what I learned in Brussels matters in the American political conversation.
The interviews and entire event put in context why the MAGA & MEGA movements are truly historically significant. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, both are the outcome of the natural yearning of the human spirit for freedom, clashing with the rising trend of aggressive globalist socialism, and the growth of a dominating ruling class mentality that is unconcerned about and unresponsive to the needs of regular citizens.
Those I interviewed in Brussels spoke about the fact that many in EU member countries oppose the strangling regulations emanating from the EU. These regulations and policies compelled dangerous immigration policies that host countries are not equipped to deal with and due to which they are now endangered, climate change alarmism that foists irrational limitations and unnecessary expenses on individuals and energy based on a theory they reject, and gender ideology insanity seen as an attack on children, families, parents and faith.
They see their countries and Western Civilization under assault.
In political terms, they see these issues of climate, immigration, gender ideology, and “wokeism” (a term they used repeatedly) over all, as Marxism and communism. And there is a reason for that. That reason is that for decades, Europeans have a real lived, recent and recurring history fighting against tyranny, communism, socialism, and more recently globalism and the EU. To paraphrase SCOTUS, they know tyranny when they see it. They know Cultural Marxism when they see it. They know communism when they see it. They call these evils out in plain language, without hesitation, qualifiers or limitations.
These people want their lives back. They want their countries back. They want the sovereignty and identity of their home countries back. They want control over their own lives and laws. They want self-determination, not centralized control.
The MEGA leaders said in a variety of ways that they are deeply inspired by President Donald Trump’s bravery in speaking up against ruling class elites in America, in the form of the Deep State and ruling class and rising globalism. They are replicating that bravery in Europe in standing up against the EU and rising power of globalist institutions.
It is almost impossible to overstate the enthusiasm we encountered at the MEGA conference and beyond. My colleague who traveled with me to Brussels wore a “Make America Great Again” red baseball cap, and people all over Brussels, from countless pedestrians on the street, bellmen at the hotels, waiters in the restaurants, and chocolate vendors in the famous Belgian chocolateries, radiated pro-Trump, pro-freedom, pro-America, passion, and wanted their pictures taken with the MAGA hat on.
Over the next weeks I’ll share our interviews and short clips with many more of the speakers, panelists and other conference-attendees. For now, you’ll enjoy this rolling clip of MEGA conference-goers. Also, HERE is a link to our interview with Alvaro Penas, a conservative leader from Spain who has written extensively about the history of the fight against communism in Europe. Stephen Bartulica is a Member of the Croatian Parliament who spoke to me about demolishing the woke agenda, the green scam and the indoctrination of our children. He supports MEGA because he wants a better and freer life for his children.
I’ll close by saying that of course not every citizen in Europe supports or understands MEGA, just as not every American supports MAGA. But the trend is in the right direction, toward breaking up centralized power, abolishing the ruling class mindset, restoring power in the hands of the people.
A gathering similar to MEGA, the Patriots Summit, took place in Madrid in early February. Their press release summarizes the issue very well:
“In the wake of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States of America, and after just a few months of Javier Milei’s presidency, which is blowing the wind of freedom in Argentina, Europe is discovering that political will, carried by massive support from the people, can change a Nation’s destiny.”
Debbie Georgatos
Host, America Can We Talk
RNC Committeewoman for Texas