Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, February 8, 2025

Who cares what Europe thinks? It’s America first, our president and our circus. I get that feeling. But a little distance often brings perspective, and so here’s what I got from my recent trip to the United Kingdom.

There wasn’t a taxi driver in London who didn’t bring up Donald Trump. Their focus wasn’t so much America; it was that they could use a little Trump at home. That England needed a shake-up, a change in status quo. That life was too hard for the normal person, the taxpayer, the worker, the parent. That the country was too soft on the woke agenda, the rule-breakers, the cover-up politicians and their sex ring scandals.

The Brits had their populist shot at big change and were left wanting. They were promised that Brexit would renew the kingdom. That wages would go up, immigration down. That they wouldn’t be ruled by European Union progressives. But so far, hard to tell. Public sentiment has shifted away from Brexit; nearly 60% now disapprove. The economy isn’t booming. It’s made it a lot harder to travel and do business for everyone from students to professionals. It’s not clear if things are safer, more prosperous, more British yet.

Certainly the timing of Brexit alongside the pandemic and Ukrainian war didn’t help, but the fundamentals of isolation aren’t great either. According to Goldman Sachs, Brexit Britain’s economy grew 5% less than peer countries. Last year, just 15% of Brits said the benefits of leaving the EU outweighed the costs. They’re looking for the next unlock, and it’s hard to see one in the February drizzle. . . .