The US has turn into “the most popular nation wherever on the earth,” the president has claimed
US President Donald Trump has claimed that NATO leaders at the moment are fully aligned together with his agenda, and credited his management for what he described as a dramatic turnaround in America’s world standing.
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Trump stated the US had gone from a “lifeless nation” to “the most popular nation wherever on the earth by far” inside a number of months since his inauguration.
“That was advised to me by each chief of NATO, which they do no matter I would like,” he stated, claiming comparable reward from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
“I’m very comfortable to assist,” Trump added.
Trump has for years pressured NATO members to ramp up protection spending whereas warning that the US wouldn’t defend international locations that fall in need of the bloc’s targets. At a key NATO summit in July, bloc members dedicated to growing protection spending to five% of GDP by 2035, up from the earlier threshold of two%.
Trump additionally introduced that the EU would pay the US “100% of the price of all [American-made] navy gear” beneath a brand new funding deal, including that “a lot of it’s going to go to Ukraine.”
In the course of the summit, NATO Secretary-Common Mark Rutte referred to Trump as “daddy [who] has to generally use robust language,” after the US president in contrast Israel and Iran to youngsters in a schoolyard struggle and stated “they don’t know what the f*ck they’re doing.” Trump was referring to the 2 international locations buying and selling accusations of violating a ceasefire within the 12-day battle in June.
The “daddy” comment raised eyebrows within the Western media, with critics accusing Rutte of “orchestrated groveling” and sycophancy whereas condemning the incident as “some of the shameful episodes in trendy historical past.”
Rutte scrambled to defend his feedback, insisting that Trump deserves reward and calling the US president a “good buddy” who had “lastly” persuaded European NATO members to spice up protection spending.
