[ April 19, 2024 ]
Predictably, President Trump’s bold demand that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member nations start paying their fair share of defense spending, was slammed by the mainstream media who called it “toxic nationalism” and “diplomatic malpractice.”
Why is Trump being vilified for speaking the truth? The whole point of holding these meetings is to provide world leaders with an opportunity to raise and debate issues of international significance. Certainly, leaders are expected to behave in a diplomatic, if not friendly, manner. But, it does not mean that uncomfortable subjects can’t be raised. This is precisely the time and the forum in which to address the most serious member concerns.
Trump made the following controversial remarks on Wednesday:
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Many countries are not paying what they should. And, frankly, many countries owe us a tremendous amount of money for many years back, where they’re delinquent, as far as I’m concerned, because the United States has had to pay for them. So if you go back 10 or 20 years, you’ll just add it all up…a massive amount of money is owed. The United States has paid and stepped up like nobody.
We’re protecting Germany, we’re protecting France, we’re protecting all of these countries, and then many of the countries go out and make a pipeline deal with Russia where they’re paying billions of dollars into the coffers of Russia. On top of that, Germany is just paying a little bit over 1%. Whereas the United States in actual numbers is paying 4.2% of a much larger GDP. So I think that’s inappropriate also. Now, this has been going on for decades. This has been brought up by other presidents, but other presidents never did anything about it because I don’t think they understood it or they just didn’t want to get involved. But I have to bring it up because I think it’s very unfair to our country; it’s very unfair to our taxpayers.
President Trump’s delivery was polite and measured; he did not raise his voice, nor was he rude. He had come to acknowledge the white elephant in the room, namely, that many member nations were not contributing their fair share. More specifically, he was concerned that Germany, with the world’s fourth largest economy, contributes only 1.2%. When Germany offered to work up to the 2% target by 2025, Trump said that was unacceptable.
He also questioned Germany’s natural gas deal (the Nord Stream pipeline) with Moscow. Angela Merkel “cut a secret, special deal with Putin where she gets a direct pipeline of natural gas right into Germany that does not go through any of the other NATO countries…and Germany is getting their natural gas at a much sweeter price than the other NATO nations.” Trump believes their energy dependence on Russia places them in a position of weakness in dealings with Putin.
What good is NATO if Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars for gas and energy? Why are there only 5 out of 29 countries that have met their commitment? The U.S. is paying for Europe’s protection, then loses billions on Trade. Must pay 2% of GDP IMMEDIATELY, not by 2025.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2018
….On top of it all, Germany just started paying Russia, the country they want protection from, Billions of Dollars for their Energy needs coming out of a new pipeline from Russia. Not acceptable! All NATO Nations must meet their 2% commitment, and that must ultimately go to 4%!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2018
Rush Limbaugh explains that:
What has happened here, is all of Europe has become totally dependent on Russia for natural gas and in some cases oil. The pipelines to European countries come straight from Russia — some of them through Crimea, other places.
She (Merkel) made a sweetheart deal with Putin, excluding other NATO countries…Trump said she is putting herself at great disadvantage with Putin in a geopolitical and diplomatic sense because now Germany has become so dependent on Putin.
He’s basically told the Germans that this bad guy now owns ’em!
Is Trump wrong to call her out on it? Of course not. Merkel has made some bad decisions. Many German citizens and even officials in her own government have lost confidence in her leadership.
The following chart indicates the military spending of NATO member nations both in US dollars and as a percentage of GDP. Few member nations are meeting their pledged military spending goal of 2% of GDP. The US, the UK, Poland, Greece, Estonia are at 2% or higher. France, Romania, Latvia are close at 1.8%, followed by Lithuania at 1.7%, and Norway at 1.6, Turkey and Bulgaria at 1.5%.
Most nations which either border or are closest to Russia are at or just shy of 2%. The rest, especially Germany with the world’s fourth largest economy, need to step it up.
We can always count on CNN’s Christiane Amanpour to recite the liberal talking points:
One also has to remember what the president of the European Council said yesterday, Donald Tusk, in perfect English. “Mr. President, appreciate your allies. After all, you don’t have very many right now.” Now, that also is a dig! That is a dig, but he’s stating a fact, that this is not the most popular administration in the history of the world.
I could not care less what Donald Tusk or Angela Merkel or Theresa May or Justin Trudeau think of President Trump. If Trump is unpopular because he puts American interests first, it’s okay with this conservative. Limbaugh points out the difference between Obama and Trump.
He (Trump) doesn’t think we have to apologize for anything. There’s nothing wrong with being great. There’s nothing wrong with American wealth, nothing wrong with America being a superpower. We’ve earned it, it’s merit-based, and we’re the good guys. We try to do good things as a result of it. But to the American left, we don’t. To the American left, we use our power to plunder and steal other people’s resources.
No matter what Trump said or didn’t say at the summit, he will always be despised and criticized by the left. If Obama had uttered Trump’s same remarks at a NATO gathering, the left would have praised him for his courage on the world stage. For them, it’s not so much the things Trump says or does that they detest, it’s the man who says or does them.
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26 Comments
5 years ago
Left/Liberal and jihadis think the same.
Turkey govt allows organ harvest of prisoners and orphaned children killing them in the process http://tinyurl.com/mfpzzl8
And this country is NATO member ! Left/liberals are ok with organ harvesting by killing babies too !
5 years ago
President Trump telling the rest of us NATO allie’s to start paying for ourselves is equivalent to a father sick and tired of his mid twenties son sponging so he can spend money partying.
In a country’s case, Canada as well as every other NATO allie, partying means social programs to buy votes.
You don’t even need to be a parent to know sonny boy’s going to whine and snivel, to Mommy in all likelyhood, when Daddy says, “Party’s over, bucko. Get out and get a job.”
5 years ago
Reply to
Dano50
Agreed. My Dad could kill any wild-eyed ambitious childhood plan of mine with one simple question, “Where are you going to get the money?”.
5 years ago
Our allies in Europe and Asia need the United States much more than the other way around, in honesty.
5 years ago
Why is the Left so against our President doing anything at all to protect America? Instead of praising him for calling out the freeloaders that totally take advantage of us, they badmouth him all over the place. I’m sick of it and really sick of them! I’ve never seen a party more intent on destroying America like the Democrats are. They are truly evil to the core!
5 years ago
Reply to
Janet
Janet: The correct spelling is DemocRATs and their DemocRATic communist/muslem party along with their RepubliCANT RINOs. There are still American Democrats who WANT to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.
5 years ago
Reply to
Laddyboy
Democrats who want to MAGA? You could of fooled me! Glad to hear it though. The Republicans could get something done if the Demorats would quit stopping them at every turn.
5 years ago
5 years ago
Leftist are evil and want to destroy every thing that is good or any idea that has real reason in it. They hate any thing that would better the United States . We see them evey day on tv screaming their hatred . I hope that the left in America never again regain any real power.
5 years ago
Riding on America’s freedom so they can practice they tyranny on you and call it success. Europe’s FEEdom.
5 years ago
Reply to
Alleged-Comment
Alleged-Comment: “FEEdom” are you sure it is not spelled FIEFDOM or rather “Fifedumb”?
5 years ago
In the same vein that the US is not the world’s piggybank to rob at will, neither is it the world’s daycare center for wayward illegal aliens and their children (in some cases, not) that have been drug through the countryside.
Why are we not seeing any adults charged with child endangerment in addition to immigration violations?
5 years ago
Reply to
Drew the Infidel
Especially the ones that send their children on their own. We should be sending the minors right back home not footing the bill for them. It makes no sense!
5 years ago
Europe didn’t mind the U.S. being a superpower when it came to saving their countries during WWI and WWII. Nor did they mind when the U.S. provided the monetary resources for them to rebuild, which many haven’t paid back, but have also provided the bulk of military for their defense and all the while their citizens deride the U.S. for not providing the U.S. citizens with the social programs they provide their citizens at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer.
5 years ago
Previous presidents refused to stand up for the U.S. taxpayer and demand that NATO members pay their fair share.
The U.S. contributes over $700B (3.6% of GDP) to NATO’s 2018 budget. Who comes 2nd? The UK, at $65.1B (so you have the US at over 70%, while the next behind it at only ~6.5%). Explain why U.S. taxpayers should fund defense of 28 other countries, of which only 4 meet the 2% requirement of GDP.
Russia is Europe’s main threat yet Germany gives Russia billions for their energy, explain that. On the other hand if Europe’s Muslim population continues to expand we will need Russia to fight Europe.
5 years ago
Reply to
Fred Alexander
It really is an absurd arrangement and even more so when you realize that the unappreciative and ungrateful European beneficiaries of American generosity don’t even like us!
5 years ago
Reply to
caliroxanne
A typical example of co-dependency really!!
The taker ends up resenting the giver because the giver has the capacity to do for the taker that which the taker cannot or will not do for themselves.
5 years ago
USA put Europe on the dole after WWII. People on the dole are easy to control. It could be argued that it got us through the Cold War with no errant shots. The free ride should have ended when the Soviets caved. Time to get back to work, Europe. Good luck breaking the news to your new guests.
5 years ago
“Smart” would be to pull out of NATO (as well as the U.N.). I am not an isolationist by any means, but our generosity and help should go to those who don’t hate us (yes, Europeans hate us) and to those who are willing to foot the bill for defense. No more free American protection to ungrateful and unappreciative Europeans who don’t respect us, who arrogantly look down on us, who mock us, who belittle us, don’t buy our products and don’t even like us!!!
5 years ago
Tell me, who needs freaking Abania and Turkey in NATO?
5 years ago
America does not have to put one cent more than the lowest paying member of the UNunited Nations. Americans have been supporting an islamic CULT “un” for FAR Too long. It is time to reduce – stop the payments that have gone to the pockets of the FEW in other countries.
Give the “un” building FREELOADERS two days to remove hand carry items from the building in the COMMUNIST led city of NEW YOURK. Put a freeze on all funds of these FREELOADERS which will be used to pay their BACK-RENT and all their TICKETS given throughout the YEARS.
5 years ago
