Once again, the left-leaning mainstream media has distorted Donald Trump's statements and created an artificial outcry based on false accusations. They are ready to put an end to his comeback attempt and protect President Biden's inept and feeble administration. This is essentially the same ridiculous argument that detractors made in 2016: that Mr. Trump is beholden to Vladimir Putin and is preparing to provide the cunning Russian president unrestricted authority to attack other NATO nations.
One "Red Alarm" chyron on CNN read, "Allies on edge as Trump encourages Russia’s Putin to invade," raising the issue of whether NATO would be able to withstand another Trump administration. In order to express their disapproval of Mr. Trump's previous remarks while campaigning, the network brought out former spies such as Sir Richard Dearlove, who was the head of the British Secret Intelligence Service.
On Tuesday, Mr. Biden took use of his position as vice president to criticize Mr. Trump for making "un-American" comments about NATO, capitalizing on the frenzy.
With all seriousness, Mr. Biden said, "The previous president has sent a dangerous and terribly, simply un-American signal to the world.". A short time ago, Trump extended an invitation to Putin to attack many NATO nations.
Mr. Biden elaborated, saying: "He threatened to tell Russia to 'do whatever the hell it wants' if an ally did not invest enough money on defense." Do you have any idea? Saying that is an ex-president of the US. The worst part is that he actually intends for it, and everyone heard him. There has never been a president who kowtowed to a Russian tyrant.
However, that is completely incorrect. The transcript is at our fingertips.
Mr. Trump recalled his success in persuading NATO members to increase their military expenditure during his presidency during a rally in South Carolina over the weekend.
NATO was in a mess until I showed there, Mr. Trump said. I responded, 'Someone is going to have to pay.'" "Are you still going to defend us if we do not pay?" [NATO allies] asked. "Definitely not," I said. The response shocked them. There has never been a time when [NATO Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg has received more funding. "He was my greatest admirer," I said, "but I do not know whether he is now."
Mr. Trump continued by saying that he had a chat with a "president of a huge country," who asked him, in a hypothetical situation, if the United States would defend that nation if it did not contribute its due amount to NATO's collective defense. "No, I would not defend you," Mr. Trump said he responded. Actually, I would say to the Russians, "Do whatever the fuck you want."
"Yes, we will defend you under any circumstances," most politicians have replied to that, Mr. Trump said. Then they will never pay. I refused to do it. You must realize: without paying your expenses, you have no security. No brainer at all. The reason NATO is wealthy now is because of the hundreds of billions of dollars that I helped them raise.
So, when you consider the context of Mr. Trump's remarks, it is not quite the alarming situation that the media and the government would have you think.
When the media wolves try to discredit Mr. Trump, he can point to his presidency record to support his claims.
At the time that Mr. Trump assumed office, some NATO member states were far behind their committed 2% of GDP on military. Since the majority of U.S. alliances and international institutions rely on U.S. taxpayer funding, Mr. Trump took advantage of the widespread belief among Americans that other nations were abusing their position in foreign policy and national security.
Mr. Stoltenberg has attributed the increase in military spending by NATO members—including Canada and Europe—to Mr. Trump's "carrot and stick" policy, which resulted in a $130 billion increase during his presidency and will reach $400 billion by 2024.
"President Trump has been quite explicit," Mr. Stoltenberg said in an interview he gave to Fox News in 2019. His allegiance is with NATO. Both during the July NATO meeting and most recently, he made that point very plain. However, he has also made it very plain that NATO members should increase their investment. We pledged to do more to step up at the summit in July of last year, and now we are seeing the fruits of our labor.
New international conflicts also did not occur during Mr. Trump's four years in office. Despite the press and the present administration's attempts to twist the truth, it is an album of which he may be proud.
One "Red Alarm" chyron on CNN read, "Allies on edge as Trump encourages Russia’s Putin to invade," raising the issue of whether NATO would be able to withstand another Trump administration. In order to express their disapproval of Mr. Trump's previous remarks while campaigning, the network brought out former spies such as Sir Richard Dearlove, who was the head of the British Secret Intelligence Service.
On Tuesday, Mr. Biden took use of his position as vice president to criticize Mr. Trump for making "un-American" comments about NATO, capitalizing on the frenzy.
With all seriousness, Mr. Biden said, "The previous president has sent a dangerous and terribly, simply un-American signal to the world.". A short time ago, Trump extended an invitation to Putin to attack many NATO nations.
Mr. Biden elaborated, saying: "He threatened to tell Russia to 'do whatever the hell it wants' if an ally did not invest enough money on defense." Do you have any idea? Saying that is an ex-president of the US. The worst part is that he actually intends for it, and everyone heard him. There has never been a president who kowtowed to a Russian tyrant.
However, that is completely incorrect. The transcript is at our fingertips.
Mr. Trump recalled his success in persuading NATO members to increase their military expenditure during his presidency during a rally in South Carolina over the weekend.
NATO was in a mess until I showed there, Mr. Trump said. I responded, 'Someone is going to have to pay.'" "Are you still going to defend us if we do not pay?" [NATO allies] asked. "Definitely not," I said. The response shocked them. There has never been a time when [NATO Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg has received more funding. "He was my greatest admirer," I said, "but I do not know whether he is now."
Mr. Trump continued by saying that he had a chat with a "president of a huge country," who asked him, in a hypothetical situation, if the United States would defend that nation if it did not contribute its due amount to NATO's collective defense. "No, I would not defend you," Mr. Trump said he responded. Actually, I would say to the Russians, "Do whatever the fuck you want."
"Yes, we will defend you under any circumstances," most politicians have replied to that, Mr. Trump said. Then they will never pay. I refused to do it. You must realize: without paying your expenses, you have no security. No brainer at all. The reason NATO is wealthy now is because of the hundreds of billions of dollars that I helped them raise.
So, when you consider the context of Mr. Trump's remarks, it is not quite the alarming situation that the media and the government would have you think.
When the media wolves try to discredit Mr. Trump, he can point to his presidency record to support his claims.
At the time that Mr. Trump assumed office, some NATO member states were far behind their committed 2% of GDP on military. Since the majority of U.S. alliances and international institutions rely on U.S. taxpayer funding, Mr. Trump took advantage of the widespread belief among Americans that other nations were abusing their position in foreign policy and national security.
Mr. Stoltenberg has attributed the increase in military spending by NATO members—including Canada and Europe—to Mr. Trump's "carrot and stick" policy, which resulted in a $130 billion increase during his presidency and will reach $400 billion by 2024.
"President Trump has been quite explicit," Mr. Stoltenberg said in an interview he gave to Fox News in 2019. His allegiance is with NATO. Both during the July NATO meeting and most recently, he made that point very plain. However, he has also made it very plain that NATO members should increase their investment. We pledged to do more to step up at the summit in July of last year, and now we are seeing the fruits of our labor.
New international conflicts also did not occur during Mr. Trump's four years in office. Despite the press and the present administration's attempts to twist the truth, it is an album of which he may be proud.
