Scoop: Trump's private NATO trashing rattles allies

[demmiblue]

Source: Axios

You've already read a hundred stories about President Trump's clashes with some of America's closest allies at the G7 summit in Canada. But we've got new details from his private conversations with heads of state that have put some of these leaders on edge leading into next month's NATO summit.

What we're hearing: In one extraordinary riff during his meeting with the G7 heads of state earlier this month in Quebec, Trump told the other leaders: "NATO is as bad as NAFTA." An official read this quote to me from notes transcribed from the private meeting.

Behind the scenes: Trump made the comment after telling the G7 leaders that Crimea probably should belong to Russia because everyone there speaks Russian, the source added. Trump then went on his usual riff about Germany not paying its fair share of defense spending, said the Europeans weren't paying enough and that the U.S. is being ripped off.

Then Trump said of the NATO Summit on July 11-12 in Brussels: "It will be an interesting summit. NATO is as bad as NAFTA. It's much too costly for the U.S."

Read more: https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-foreign-policy-europe-nato-allies-worried-bd1e143a-e73a-415b-b688-d18ab2d902e7.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twsocialshare&utm_campaign=organic

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Trump is downsizing the United States like a corporate raider shrinks a takeover

Trump has no understanding of geopolitics. He thinks government should be run like a business and when it is there is nothing else to worry about. John Adams in particular would be turning over in his grave because of the meticulous way in which he built nascent U.S. foreign policy in an age when no foreign countries would even lend to us, other than France, and they with some cajoling. Maybe that's Trump's end game. Make us unable to borrow because no one will lend. We will be ripe for invasion at that point.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

2. Obama Unhappy with Allies, Upset at Free Riders

MARCH 10, 2016

“Free riders aggravate me,” he [President Barack Obama] told me. Recently, Obama warned that Great Britain would no longer be able to claim a “special relationship” with the United States if it did not commit to spending at least 2 percent of its GDP on defense. “You have to pay your fair share,” Obama told David Cameron, who subsequently met the 2 percent threshold.

Part of his mission as president, Obama explained, is to spur other countries to take action for themselves, rather than wait for the U.S. to lead. The defense of the liberal international order against jihadist terror, Russian adventurism, and Chinese bullying depends in part, he believes, on the willingness of other nations to share the burden with the U.S. This is why the controversy surrounding the assertion—made by an anonymous administration official to The New Yorker during the Libya crisis of 2011—that his policy consisted of “leading from behind” perturbed him. “We don’t have to always be the ones who are up front,” he told me. “Sometimes we’re going to get what we want precisely because we are sharing in the agenda. The irony is that it was precisely in order to prevent the Europeans and the Arab states from holding our coats while we did all the fighting that we, by design, insisted” that they lead during the mission to remove Muammar Qaddafi from power in Libya. “It was part of the anti–free rider campaign....”

[On Libya], you’ve got Europe and a number of Gulf countries who despise Qaddafi, or are concerned on a humanitarian basis, who are calling for action. But what has been a habit over the last several decades in these circumstances is people pushing us to act but then showing an unwillingness to put any skin in the game.”

[heaven05]

3. so, you are happy

to post this about a real competent POTUS, at this time. This is as bad as Joe Wilson shouting "liar" at a sitting President, to me. How dare you try to divide us and implicitly shore up trump. HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Algernon Moncrieff]

5. Nope - just trying to point out this is not a new issue

Obama delivered a similar message, albeit with a more constructive tone.

[heaven05]

7. sure

[Cha]

8. That's England.. he got along great with Trudeau and

Angela.. both Fraud and President Obama do it.. isn't working for you.

[Javaman]

4. here is the progression of events...

1) the orange asshole knows nothing of world politics, let alone military alliances and history.

2) the orange asshole thinks the America politic is out to get him and/or thinks only he knows better and everyone else is stupid

3) even though the orange asshole "knows everything" their is about world politics (I know this contradicts my previous statement, but that's the world or tRump), he still needs to be schooled in it.

4) the short attention span of the orange asshole prevents him from, you know, reading so in order to get "educated" he seeks out people in power who know better.

5) the orange asshole seeks out putin, who has has had many a underhanded deal with over the years, as the person who will teach him the facts of politics.

6) like the happy puppy he is and always fearful of direct confrontation, the orange asshole laps up the "wisdom" bestowed upon him from putin.

7) putin laughs at how easy that was.

[Aristus]

6. The USA should belong to the UK, because everybody here speaks English.

Jesus, Trump is a dumb-fuck for not being able to make that connection...

[Orsino]

9. Who thought Putin wouldn't order us out of NATO, too? n/t