I don’t think he expected the U.S. and Europe, particularly Germany, to be able to put aside recent differences and act in a fairly united fashion as they’ve do

I don’t think he expected the U.S. and Europe, particularly Germany, to be able to put aside recent differences and act in a fairly united fashion as they’ve done; but now that he’s committed to the action he’s going to see it through, no matter the cost. And at this point there’s not much left for him to lose.