Republican leader Donald Trump said on Saturday that, as president, he warned NATO allies that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever they want” to “delinquent” countries as he stepped up his attacks on foreign aid and long-standing international alliances.
Speaking at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump told a story he has told before about an unidentified NATO member who confronted him over his threat not to defend members who failed to meet the trans-Atlantic alliance’s defense spending targets.
But this time, Trump went further, saying he had told the member that he would, in fact, “encourage” Russia to do what it wants in the case.
“‘You don’t pay? You’re a delinquent?’” Trump recounted saying. “’No, I will not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You have to pay. You have to pay your bills.’”
NATO allies agreed in 2014, after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula, to end the spending cuts they made after the Cold War and move towards spending 2% of their GDP on defense by 2024.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates responded, saying that: “Encouraging the invasion of our closest allies by a murderous regime is appalling and unconscionable – and it endangers America’s national security, global stability, and our economy at home.”
Donald Trump said that, as president, he warned NATO allies that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever they want” during a rally in South Carolina on Saturday. Getty Images US President Joe Biden is surrounded by Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky and leaders of NATO countries including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on July 12, 2023. AP
Trump’s comments come as Ukraine remains bogged down in its efforts to deter a Russian invasion in 2022 and as Republicans in Congress grow increasingly hesitant to provide additional aid money to the country as it grapples with stalled counterattacks and an arms shortage.
They also come as Trump and his team grow increasingly confident he will lock up the nomination in the coming weeks following a landslide victory in the first ballot of the 2024 Republican nominating calendar.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump called for an end to foreign aid “WITHOUT A “PLAN” arguing that the US should sharply curtail the way it provides money.
“FROM THIS, DID YOU LISTEN TO OUR SENATE(?), NO MONEY IN THE FORM OF FOREIGN AID SHOULD BE GIVEN TO ANY COUNTRY UNLESS IT IS DONE AS A LOAN, NOT JUST A GIVEAWAY,” wrote Trump on his social media network. in all caps.
Former President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Germany on July 7, 2017. AP Former President Donald Trump and then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson meet at the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2019. AP
Trump went on to say the money could be loaned “ON EXTREMELY GOOD TERMS,” with no interest and no date for repayment. But he said that, “IF THE COUNTRY WE HELP EVER RETURN TO US, OR GET RICH IN THE FUTURE, THE LOAN WILL BE PAID AND THE MONEY RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES.”
During his 2016 campaign, Trump alarmed Western allies by warning that the United States, under his leadership, might abandon NATO treaty commitments and only defend countries that meet the alliance’s guidelines by handing over 2 percent of their gross domestic product to the military. expenses.
Trump, as president, ended up supporting NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause, which states that an armed attack against one or more of its members will be considered an attack against all members.
But he has often portrayed NATO allies as leeches on the US military and has openly questioned the value of the military alliance that has defined American foreign policy for decades.
Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron hold hands during a ceremony at the White House on April 24, 2018. AP
As of 2022, NATO reports that seven of what are now 31 NATO member states have met that obligation — up from three in 2014. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine prompted additional military spending by some NATO members.
Trump has often tried to take credit for the increase, and said again on Saturday that, as a result of his threat, “hundreds of billions of dollars are going into NATO” — even though countries don’t pay for NATO directly.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
