I think he did better than it’s being made out to be. I watched the interview and the questions just seemed like a bunch of gotcha questions. I’m not familiar with the interviewer but I could understand Shapiro’s thinking the guy was a leftist based on the questioning. His question about abortion wasn’t just a question but had a judgement being made within it so that was accusatory. I could be wrong but my impression of Europeans is that they don’t really have a left and a right similar to the United States. It’s more of left being hard communist and right being lite socialist. There isn’t many defending an American kind of governing philosophy. Maybe this interviewer does but with friends like that who needs enemies.
I agree with your impression of today’s Europeans.
Also, welcome to FR!