NATO leaders ‘do whatever I want’ – Trump
US President Donald Trump has claimed that NATO leaders are now completely aligned with his agenda, and credited his leadership for what he described as a dramatic turnaround in America’s global standing.
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Trump said the US had gone from a “dead country” to “the hottest country anywhere in the world by far” within several months since his inauguration.
“That was told to me by every leader of NATO, which they do whatever I want,” he said, claiming similar praise from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
“I’m very happy to help,” Trump added.
Trump has for years pressured NATO members to ramp up defense spending while warning that the US would not defend countries that fall short of the bloc’s targets. At a key NATO summit in July, bloc members committed to increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, up from the previous threshold of 2%.
Trump also announced that the EU would pay the US “100% of the cost of all [American-made] military equipment” under a new funding deal, adding that “much of it will go to Ukraine.”
During the summit, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte referred to Trump as “daddy [who] has to sometimes use strong language,” after the US president compared Israel and Iran to children in a schoolyard fight and said “they don’t know what the f*ck they’re doing.” Trump was referring to the two countries trading accusations of violating a ceasefire in the 12-day war in June.
The “daddy” remark raised eyebrows in the Western media, with critics accusing Rutte of “orchestrated groveling” and sycophancy while condemning the incident as “one of the most shameful episodes in modern history.”
Rutte scrambled to defend his comments, insisting that Trump deserves praise and calling the US president a “good friend” who had “finally” persuaded European NATO members to boost defense spending.
