At the recent European Union summit in Malta, Donald Trump was squarely in the crosshairs of European leaders – and Trump's likely pick for U.S. ambassador to the EU didn't escape unscathed, either.
French President Francois Hollande told reporters the U.S. should pick a diplomat who believes in Europe.
"To designate an ambassador, it is better if he believes in the institution in which he is supposed to work; it is as simple as that," Hollande said, according to Bloomberg.
He was referring to Ted Malloch, who had previously told the BBC the EU may need "a little taming."
TRENDING: 'Art of the Deal': How Trump turns COVID issue into 'win-win'
In another interview, Malloch said the EU "is an overly complex, fairly bloated bureaucratic organization. Its ambitions have basically overstepped its capabilities, so the question really is what the European member states want to see for that European Union."
However, while he may not be a big fan of the EU as currently constructed, Malloch, author of the new book "Hired: An Insider’s Look at the Trump Victory," continues to be a self-professed "Europhile" who believes in Europe as a continent.
"How can you deny a geographical reality, the font of Western values, the origin of democracy?" Malloch asked in an interview with WND. "These are things we share and the transatlantic alliance deserves our constant attention and engagement. America, Trump and I are all for Europe, just not its integration and disposition as a supranational entity."
There may be a glimmer of hope on the horizon for Eurosceptics like Malloch. Speaking at the Malta summit, German chancellor Angela Merkel endorsed the idea of a less integrated Europe, or a "multi-speed EU."
She said the last few years showed "that there will be an EU with different speeds, that not everyone will take part in the same levels of integration."
Said Malloch: "I was pleased to see Mrs. Merkel admit the reality that there are many speeds for Europe and that the union should focus on this reality and not some forced political agenda."
Malloch has caught flak from European leaders for his support of Brexit and his lack of concern that other member-states may soon follow Britain out of the EU. He told WND that European elites will need to rethink the purpose of having a union if more countries end up leaving this year.
"The purpose of the EU is being rethought before our very eyes," he said. "After Brexit, other countries may go down a similar path. We will have to see, but there are elections in the Netherlands next month, then France, and then Germany. The Greeks have started discussing leaving the euro again, a so-called Grexit."
Relations between the U.S. and the EU look to be rocky in the near term going forward. Last week, before the Malta summit, European Council President Donald Tusk wrote a letter to the 27 EU heads of state in which he listed the Trump administration as a threat to the EU.
Tusk proclaimed that "worrying declarations by the new American administration," along with an aggressive Russia, an assertive China and radical Islam, constitute external threats that "make our future highly unpredictable."
Malloch was incredulous that such a high-ranking European official would make a statement like that.
"We are the enemy of Europe," Malloch mused. "There is that much anti-Americanism in the EU."