Trump Puts NATO on Notice Again
Globalists are up in arms again over the former president’s tough talk, but there’s no denying that he’s gotten results.
The Leftmedia is up in arms over another comment by Donald Trump. But once again, the talkingheads and partisans disguised as journalists twisted Trump’s words to fit their narrative that he’s unhinged and dangerous.
At a political rally in South Carolina this week, Trump spoke about NATO being broke when he was elected president. Then he decided that “everyone’s gonna pay” their fair share of the alliance’s bill.
He went on to reference a conversation he had with a “big country” that wasn’t doing so and asserted that if they didn’t pay up, he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want.” Instead, he said: “You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.” Those words set off a firestorm of criticism on the Left (and even on the Right) that Trump was opening the door for further Russian aggression while abandoning NATO.
Nikki Haley, hanging on by a thread in the Republican presidential primary contest and sensing an opportunity, went on the offensive against Trump. But some Republicans, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio, came to Trump’s defense by asserting that the former president “doesn’t talk like a traditional politician.” True that. Other GOP leaders sidestepped the issue.
Political spin aside, Trump was right. Some NATO members aren’t contributing fully to the defense of their own countries. But they did pay more when he was in the White House. The editors over at National Review agree that Trump was right about NATO:
The substance of his complaint — that the alliance was being shortchanged by many of its members — was fair. And his approach, reinforced by many Europeans’ growing realization that the threat from Putin could not be wished away, worked. Many more NATO members started to boost their defense spending.
President Joe Biden said that Trump’s words were “appalling and dangerous.” But David Brennan of Newsweek responded: “For all the outrage, the divisive former president has some grounds for criticism. The majority of NATO nations — 19, by the alliance’s own count in July 2023 — are still failing to spend 2 percent of GDP on their militaries, despite having agreed the target at the 2014 Wales summit.”
Here at home, Americans are growing weary of funneling billions of dollars to countries that seem to be taking advantage of us. Europeans, meanwhile, are unsettled over Trump’s comments. “The Europeans are right to be nervous,” Daniel DePetris writes at The Spectator. “But in a way, they only have themselves to blame. While Americans may not want the US to get out of NATO, they do find it objectionable that the US is doing most of the legwork in keeping Europe whole, free and at peace.”
As for the fearmongering of Trump’s critics that he’ll break up the historic NATO alliance if he’s elected again, one need only look at Trump’s term as president for perspective. The fact is that Trump didn’t withdraw the U.S. from NATO, nor did he interfere in the organization’s membership except to ask them to pony up.
“I MADE NATO STRONG,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Even the RINOS and Radical Left Democrats admit that. When I told the 20 Countries that weren’t paying their fair share that they had to PAY UP, and said without doing that you will not have U.S. Military Protection, the money came rolling in.”
“But now,” he added, “without me there to say YOU MUST PAY, they are at it again. We are into helping Ukraine for more than 100 Billion Dollars more than NATO.”
In 2006, each country making up the NATO alliance agreed to contribute 2% of their respective GDP, but they made it very clear it was nothing more than a goal. At the time, NATO spokesman James Appathurai admitted that the allied countries were only making a commitment to pay their fair share.
“Yes, many European nations are spending more on defense,” noted our Nate Jackson back in 2022, “but only eight NATO countries spent the requisite 2% of GDP on defense in 2021. Germany refuses to commit. Italy and Belgium promise to meet the 2% threshold, but by the years 2028 and 2035, respectively.”
It must be nice to enjoy the protection of the U.S. military without having to pitch in.
We’re reminded of an old saying: The truth hurts. And maybe that’s why there’s such an uproar over Trump’s comments about NATO. Unlike Biden, Trump wasn’t afraid to call out those countries for failing to uphold their obligations.
We all know by now that Trump’s language isn’t smooth or sophisticated, but a little tough talk now and then can help get the job done.
