Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump, declaring during a speech at the PSD Summer University on 27 Aug. that the American leader is “objectively a Soviet or Russian asset” who “functions as an asset” for Moscow. The remarks were delivered at a youth gathering in Castelo de Vide and broadcast by Portuguese and international media outlets. Rebelo de Sousa argued that the new U.S. administration has “strategically favoured the Russian Federation,” citing Trump’s early-August summit with President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where the United States offered concessions on the Ukraine conflict but secured no cease-fire. The Portuguese head of state said Washington had shifted from a position of allied leadership to “referee” and warned that Europe and Ukraine were forced to “impose themselves” in subsequent negotiations at the White House. The statement is notable because Portugal is one of NATO’s twelve founding members, and public accusations that a sitting U.S. president is aligned with Russian interests are unprecedented within the alliance. The comments add to wider European unease over Trump’s stance on Russia and could complicate trans-Atlantic cohesion as the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year.