Trump has turned the US presidency into such a joke that NATO leaders were laughing at him during his speech.
Here was Trump thinking that was the big man who was going to lecture NATO:
Trump told the allies that they were unfair:
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These grave security concerns are the same reason that I have been very, very direct with Secretary Stoltenberg and members of the Alliance in saying that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations, for 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they’re supposed to be paying for their defense.
This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. And many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years. Over the last eight years, the United States spent more on defense than all other NATO countries combined. If all NATO members had spent just 2 percent of their GDP on defense last year, we would have had another $119 billion for our collective defense and for the financing of additional NATO reserves.
We should recognize that with these chronic underpayments and growing threats, even 2 percent of GDP is insufficient to close the gaps in modernizing, readiness, and the size of forces. We have to make up for the many years lost. Two percent is the bare minimum for confronting today’s very real and very vicious threats. If NATO countries made their full and complete contributions, then NATO would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism.
Here was NATO’s reaction:
The NATO members were laughing because:
4/ Instead of reaffirming this core commitment, Trump lectured NATO about spending more on defense
— Ivo Daalder (@IvoHDaalder) May 25, 2017
5/ He’s right. They should. And they are. 23 countries increased defense spending last year. 8 countries will spend 2% on military next year
— Ivo Daalder (@IvoHDaalder) May 25, 2017
6/ All allies committed in 2014 to spend at least 2% on defense by 2024. They did so because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
— Ivo Daalder (@IvoHDaalder) May 25, 2017
The world is laughing at Trump and treating him like a clueless Putin stooge. Trump still seems to think that NATO is some private club that he is responsible for collecting the dues for.
Trump doesn’t appear to understand the purpose or function of NATO which is why America’s greatest allies couldn’t keep a straight face while he was speaking.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association