Biden Rejects Trumps ‘Unhinged’ NATO Comments
How do you feel about Trump’s comments?
What’s the story?
- Over the weekend, Donald Trump made remarks that encouraged Russia’s aggressive measures, which were rejected by President Joe Biden, GOP candidate Nikki Haley, and NATO Secretary-General.
- Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of NATO, said Trump’s comments put U.S. and European troops at a significant risk.
Trump’s comments
- During a rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump touched on a meeting he had with an unidentified member of NATO who confronted him about his threat to not defend members who fail to meet defense spending targets.
- According to Trump, the leader of “a big country” asked him:
“Well sir if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia – will you protect us?”
- He said that he told the member that he would “encourage” Russia to do as it wishes in that case, saying the nation can “do whatever the hell it wants” to countries that are “delinquent.”
- He said to the crowd:
“You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent? No I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.”
The response
- After the comments, President Joe Biden warned that Trump winning a second term in the White House would destroy American relations abroad and worsen relations with the country’s enemies. He said:
“If my opponent, Donald Trump, is able to regain power, he is making it clear as day that he will abandon our NATO allies if Russia attacks and allow Russia to ‘do whatever the hell they want’ with them…Donald Trump’s admission that he intends to give [Russian President Vladimir Putin] a greenlight for more war and violence, to continue his brutal assault against a free Ukraine, and to expand his aggression to the people of Poland and the Baltic States are appalling and dangerous.”
- The White House rejected Trump’s comments, calling them “unhinged.” Spokesperson Andrew Bates said:
“Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes…endangers American national security, globally stability and our economy at home.”
- He continued in his statement:
“Rather than calling for wars and promoting deranged chaos, President Biden will continue to bolster American leadership and stand up for our national security interests – not against them.”
- Stoltenberg said in a statement that the NATO alliance remains “ready and able” to defend its members and that any attack “will be met with a united and forceful response.” He added:
“I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election the US will remain a strong and committed Nato ally.”
- Haley also rejected the comments, warning Trump not to “take the side of a thug,” referring to Putin.
Nato’s figures
- According to NATO’s own reports on spending in 2023, 19 out of 30 member nations spent below the target of 2% of their annual GDP on defense. This includes Germany, Norway, and France.
- Nations that fell above the guideline include Poland, Romania, Hungary, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and the U.S.
How do you feel about Trump’s comments?
-Jamie Epstein
(Photo credit: iStock/RomanBabakin)
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It's clear now that another Trump term will see Russia's invasion of eastern Europe while MAGA continues blaming brown people and throwing more money to billionaires.
We have an obligation to NATO, most of whose members are now contributing more than they did 10 years ago (I will give some credit to Trump for that, even if it's out of fear).
But Trump is a fine one to speak about financial delinquency. I wonder how many bills Trump has ever paid on time and fully in his life. And does he even pay his taxes?
After last week's failures on "border security" by the Republican party, this just gives the Democrats another issue to run on: Support of NATO and resistance to Russian expansion.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, was established in 1949 to safeguard our's & our allies freedom and security through political & military means. Once again, tRump sides with & signals to Putin, instead of our NATO allies. Worse yet, the crowd applauds.
What the absolute F*ck!
I'm sure there will be some here that spin this absolute incompetence into a virtue.
Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans are clearly Russian assets. They should be dealt with in the same manner as the Rosenbergs.
Better than laying down like Biden
It demonstrates that he is completely unfit to hold any office. It also makes one ask what Putin has on him. I'm beginning to think the pee tapes are real.
"Side show Don" Trump is Putin's puppet!
Trump is pro Trump, anti democracy, anti lawa and order. He wants to own you.
We all know what he really meant. Just wish he could say it without controversy but then again it wouldn't be Trump
The next day those countries decided to pay up. Trump wins again.
Mitch, you accuse Biden of being weak, while you don't stand up against 45 and for our country over party. No credibility and no courage. Nuff said
I strongly support President Biden's remarks about continuing our vital relationship with our NATO allies. We need to strongly stand against murderous and fascist regimes and with our fellow democracies. Warmongering bullies cannot continue to trample on the sovereignty of other countries to the detriment of innocent citizens.
Besides being a convicted sex fiend and business fraud and a liar and 36 quarts across the country including the Supreme Court. Donald Trump is also a moron.
My last pay test was $9,500 operating 12 hours per week online. My buddy has been averaging 15,000 for months now and he works approximately 20 hours every week. I can not accept as true with how easy it become as soon as i tried it out.
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Trump should be in jail.
TRUMP IS UNHINGED. A FASCIST AND AN ASSET OF PUTIN. STOP HIM NOW.
What would Trump know about paying your own bills!
You know that president Franklin D Roosevelt and Texas governor Abbott were both in a wheelchair, actually the were 5 presidents that hid their health issues from the public!
We have so many USEFUL IDIOTS in the republicans party pushing Russia propaganda. Unfortunately it's give useful idiots a bad name!
Speaks volumes!
Trump avoids condemning Russia for Navalny’s murder
While the entire free world mourns the murder of people like navalny & khashoggi mobster bozo embraces the murderous regimes
this criminal has no place in america
the ultimate traitor as are his supporters
The Orange loser demonstrates time and time again how unfit for the office of the presidency he is. He is only fit for an orange jumpsuit. I hope America is paying attention.
Once again Trump shows his lack of understanding of NATO policies. For example in 2014 it was agreed that countries would ramp up to 2% of GDP by 2025. Countries have been increasing each year but when Russia invaded Ukraine they had to trade off increased expenses due to sanctioned Russian fossil fuels.
All Trump is worried about is Russia calling his loans that they have underwritten in banks.
Even Putin says he prefers a Biden Presidency to Trump because Biden has more experience.
"During the 2014 summit, all NATO members agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDPs on defense by 2025."
"According to data released as of July 1, the number of NATO countries which have reached or exceeded the spending level was only 11 out of 30 members with armed forces."
"While this means that only around a third of members are reaching the 2024 goal, the number was up from nine as of mid-2022. New additions are Romania and Hungary, where military spending as compared to GDP rose substantially in 2023 opposite 2022."
"Croatia and France, which had previously hit the 2-percent goal, stayed slightly below in 2023. The next closest to hitting the threshold were more of NATO's newer members, Montenegro and North Macedonia at 1.87 percent of GDP in defense spending each, followed by Bulgaria, Luxembourg and the Netherlands."
"According to its Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO is currently undergoing “the biggest overhaul of collective defense and deterrence since the Cold War” after the organization has emerged as the chief supporter of Ukraine in its defense effort against a Russian invasion."
"The German bank that loaned $300m (£260m) to Donald Trump played a prominent role in a money laundering scandal run by Russian criminals with ties to the Kremlin, the Guardian can reveal."
"Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday that he preferred Joe Biden to Donald Trump"
"Putin replied without hesitation: "Biden. He is a more experienced, predictable person, a politician of the old school."
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/21/deutsche-bank-that-lent-300m-to-trump-linked-to-russian-money-laundering-scam
https://www.reuters.com/world/putin-says-he-prefers-more-predictable-biden-over-trump-2024-02-14/
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/nato-spending-by-country
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/11/donald-trump-says-he-would-encourage-russia-to-attack-nato-countries-who-dont-pay-bills
https://www.euronews.com/2024/02/11/trump-encourages-russia-to-attack-nato-states-not-paying-bills
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68266447.amp
tRUMP is a malignant narcissist with frontotemporal dementia. He can't feel for anyone but himself, but it's hard not to have your feelings hurt when his followers won't listen.
I don't pay attention to the comments of white trash, as simple as that. He's obviously uneducated and knows nothing after 4 years as president. Why would I waste my time?
All I can say is the elections will tell how many are truly involved in the solutions rather than running their collective mouths and then complaining when they get what they got. Let our voices be heard on election day and then pray.
Totally IRRESPONSIBLE COMMENT by any Presidential Candidate. I refuse to believe he is the Best Republican candidate from a US population of 330 million people.
Trump owes Putin. Why else would he make such an asinine claim?
Fact check: Debunking five false Trump claims about NATO
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/13/politics/fact-check-trump-nato?
<Quote>
Facts First: All of these Trump claims are false. While a majority of NATO members do not meet the alliance’s target of each member spending a minimum of 2% of gross domestic product on defense, the 2% target is a “guideline” that does not create bills, debts or legal obligations if it is not met. In fact, the guideline doesn’t require payments to NATO or the US at all. Rather, it simply requires each country to spend on their own defense programs.
When Trump was president, the guideline was written in forgiving language that made clear that it was not a firm commitment. That version of the guideline, created at a NATO summit in Wales in 2014, said members that had yet to reach 2% would “aim to move towards the 2% guideline within a decade with a view to meeting their NATO Capability Targets and filling NATO’s capability shortfalls.” In other words, the members that were below 2% in 2014 didn’t even have to promise to hit the target by 2024 – simply to make an effort to do so by then.
NATO does require members to make direct contributions to fund the organization’s own operations. But there is no sign that members have failed to make those contributions, which constitute a tiny fraction of the allies’ defense spending, and Trump has made clear that his talk of debts is about the 2% guideline.
Stephen Saideman, the Paterson Chair in International Affairs at Carleton University in Canada, said in a Monday email that the word “inaccurate really does not cover Trump’s protection racket/country club perception of dues owed to the US.”
<End Quote>
Mentally unstable!!!