So, basically he's destroyed our alliances, embarassed the country internationally, fawned all oveer the worlds biggest tyrant and murderer, sown diritsion and discontent all over our country, and CONGRESS HAS DONE NOTHING TO STOP THIS TRAITOR
3
The most sickening thing about watching this entire pantomime is watching world leaders, particularly Elizabeth May, cosy up to Trump, mitigating his repugnancy, while pretending that all is reconcilable. Britons march on the streets and she holds his hand, the same one that might grab her in an intimate location? This invigorates Trump: it emboldens him to become ever more perverse and ever more demanding in pursuit of what he views as America’s best interests. If he’s correct and America’s present and future are truly rooted in bigotry, prevarication, hostility towards friends, and presumed treachery with the apparent enemy, then founding NATO was a waste of time in the first place. We should have let Hitler or Stalin annex us all and be happy living in an authoritarian, ethnically cleansed, top down, collectivised misery.
Your president is not speaking for you, the majority of US citizens of common decency and sense who lament how America is being transformed, yet he represents all of you beyond his tragic base. As his contagion spreads to other would be Trumpists abroad, like Boris Johnson, the fringe seize upon their opportunity to prosper. I once scoffed when told Osama was out to destroy the West; no one man could be that much of a threat. How chastened am I? The threat is not from radical Islam. It was renditioned by reality TV.
Obama pushed other Nato countries in 2014 and it was agreed then that by 2024 they would contribute 2%....so Trump is producing his own "fake news" all over again....I live in Australia and we have our own issues, but compared to you guys in the US they are small! How did this narcissistic clown get in? Rhetorical question!
3
What is your problem, NYTimes? The headline should be "Trump Takes His Buffoonery Global"
2
If the Republicans in the Congress don't want to do it, what Nato should do is to censure Trump for being a bigot, rabble rouser, pathological liar, admitted sexual predator, philanderer, de facto Russian spy, ego maniac demagogue and suspend American's membership in Nato, until we do something re this embarrassment Trump.
Be courageous like Sens. Corker and Flake not co dependents and enablers like many of the rest of Congress.
2
Trump must be spending entirely too much time with Bannon.
The president is an absolute moron. And the republican congress is equally ignorant. This dastardly government needs to be crushed and replaced by intelligent individuals who are younger and thus not senile like the current Congress.
Trump calls himself a genius but that isn't even possible in man of his age. IQ declines with aging but then judging from his childish behavior Trump may never have had a high IQ. Nor did he go to the esteemed business school in Pennsylvania he brags about. Actually he only lived in their dorm. See the records.
NATO may survive Trump, but American Democracy will not be so lucky. This ignominious monster is the worst that has happened to the World since Hitler, and like with Hitler, the World looks impassively on as he goes about destroying our civilization. It is already too late for this country, and soon it will be too late for everybody if the European powers don't react.
2
So Trump is due credit for a “tremendous “ increase in military spending by NATO allies. Fantastic news!
Same kind of news as “North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat”
Total schizophrenia!
2
Trump is an expert negotiator and one again has done the right job. NATO was not divided as the leftist journalists complained, NATO is stepping it spending and addressing the Russian threat. All of your articles, opinions pieces etc. were completely wrong as they were based upon your hatred for Trump, not the actions which were wonderful....The NYT must fire 1/2 its staff and hire conservative writers who can actually report news.
Shame on US.
2
Donald Trump, who used five deferments and a bone spur to stay out of the military, now brags about how strong he is making our armed forces with the money he's getting for defense. At the same time, however, he weakens our defensive capabilities by destroying our relationships with allies. Blinded by racism, too many Americans can't see that Trump doesn't care about them or America. He only cares about Donald Trump and staying in power. #SAD
See: RevolutionOfReason.com
1
NATO countries need to pay their fair share...or find another protector. They money we have pumped into protecting Europe is staggering...in the TRILLIONS of dollars. People talk about force multiplication...and this is true...but the bottom line isn't changed if they don't pay their fair share. Multiply forces all you want...American's are being fleeced by Europe. Not once, but twice, we had to rescue the Continent from itself...and to keep their peace, among themselves we have paid dearly. They make socialism look great because they don't have to pay for their own defense. I believe Bush and Obama were nice to NATO asking for 2%...and that got us no where. I think they get the message now...pay up!
Golly gee it’s almost like we are sick of subsidizing European defense while they spend the savings on social experiments and lecture us about how backward and expansionist we are—but then suddenly scary Russia and we can’t leave please don’t go!
Sickening.
Please display the data you based your comment on. I would particularly like to see the amount diverted from "European defense" to "social experiments" . As a wise person once said "The plural of anecdote is not data"
3
I fully believe that if Trump took credit for the sun coming up, the great majority of his supporters would believe him!
5
One of the most bizarre incidents the other day was Trump accusing Germany of being controlled by Russia because of some energy purchases. Yet, last Thursday it was reported here in the Times that when Ecuador floated a resolution at the WHO meeting to promote breastfeeding (crucial in developing countries where poor women have neither the money nor the clean water to rely on formula), the US threatened and bullied the country with the loss of aid and military support until they withdrew the proposal. Then, when Russia re-introduced it, we were silent. Who is controlling whom?
2
Trump has done irrevocable damage to our alliances while siding up to dictators who have done us wrong (election interference for example). Just yesterday the Liar in Chief announced progress on nuclear disarmament with No Korea because Kim Jong-un sent him a flowery letter that said nothing and committed to nothing. Are we tired of winning yet? MAGA--get rid of the GOP in 2018. Vote like your life depends on it--it does.
a NATO which will now spend more on security trending to 4% of GDP has Putin shaking in his KGB boots.
1
This disruption is just what Putin ordered. Trash Merkel, trash NATO, trash May (though his natural misogyny probably made parts of that rather simple) and watch as it slowly disintegrates. His idea of making America "great" again must revolve around destroying all our allies so that they seem even smaller and thus we are greater.
The problem with his approach is that although NATO needs to be better managed (and funded), the anger and resentment block any productive outcomes.
It can't come soon enough
Sorry for my bad english ... just a notice for your president:
All NATO Members have the goal to reach 2% in 2024 ....
Germany in Moment 1.25%, so we are on our way. No reason for your President for his beahviour.
-He act just like my kids ... oops, now i want 4% ..... If Germany would spent 4% we would spent more like China or Russia (Ooops)-.
Next Point:
Do your President had just one thought about the refugees and their home countries?
(He should ... the come from countries where USA made the last years her simple kind of war ... bomb the country and go away. The result are millions of refugees. From Iraq, Afghanistan and Liberia and so on. I think we now should present EU's bill for us-made terrorism in France, Belgium and Germany and so on. The Bill from Europe for thousand Refugees as one following reason of stupid US Wars in that countries).
Don't forget: USA is great, a wonderful country with wounderful peoples, but EU is also a home of wounderful countries with wounderful peopels. We both should not forget that the democratic countries are shrinking and on this foundation we should not forget that money is not all)
2
Good review article on the NATO summit. Thank you.
TRUMP is a typical New York real estate type as imagined in the TV shows about big real estate deals. His style is exaggeration of most everything, including inauguration crowds. I certainly have no idea how his presidency will end up or how we will be affected by it. It does not seem hopeful that we will be pleased with the results. However, I do want to remind everyone that we have been through perilous times together before and somehow muddled through them. The best weapon we have to mitigate our difficulties is the vote. Use it wisely, if you get my drift.
Why is Congress being so meek and feeble with this president? They are spineless.
2
I wonder if it might have something to do with having the greatest "No-show" job in the history of mankind while preparing for their next lives as lobbyists, the second greatest no-show job in the history of mankind?
3
So much "winning."
GOP (Ryan & Mitch) & GOP voters have started a cascade slide, which we all in west will regret in out life time.
1
They should have called security and have him removed from the meeting.
4
NATO was never in trouble. Follow the $.
The friction isn’t between President Trump and NATO. NATO agrees with Trump that NATO members should pay their fair share of NATO expenses. The friction is between Trump and heads of NATO nations who want to put off paying their fair share for as long as possible.
On its official website, NATO says “Today, the volume of the US defense expenditure effectively represents some 67 per cent of the defense spending of the Alliance as a whole in real terms. This does not mean that the United States covers 67 per cent of the costs involved in the operational running of NATO as an organization, including its headquarters in Brussels and its subordinate military commands, but it does mean that there is an over-reliance by the Alliance as a whole on the United States for the provision of essential capabilities, including for instance, in regard to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; air-to-air refueling; ballistic missile defense; and airborne electronic warfare.”
Of 28 NATO nations, only United States, Greece, Poland, Estonia and the United Kingdom are meeting NATO spending guidelines set in 2014. Nations were given a decade to meet the guidelines, but the guidelines are only guidelines. As long as the United States pays the lion’s share of expenses, there is no guarantee that the recalcitrant members will ever pay their fair share.
10
It's telling that world leaders are simply ignoring Trump and going about the business of redefining strategic alliances whether they be economic or military. In the end it's better for them and the world if the U.S. doesn't exert so much influence. The Europeans have taken the lead on human rights and democratic values. Eventually the U.S. will be follow.
12
The move to have NATO members spend 2% of GDP on military was started in 2014, when that hated man, Obama, was President. Amazing isn't it?
2
G.W. Bush wanted NATO countries to pay their fair share but nothing got done.
B.H. Obama wanted NATO countries to pay their fair share but nothing got done.
Trump is making it happen. Finally this country has real leadership on the world stage. He may not be liked, but he is respected and world leaders are listening, knowing he is serious.
NATO will walk away from this episode stronger and better equipped militarily because of Trump's strong stance and leadership.
12
LarryGr - Based on what I've read, I have to ask, Mr. Trump is making what happen? My understanding is that nothing actually changed at the summit and the other countries are going to do what they were lined up to do even before January 20 of last year. Is that not correct? I realize it doesn't align with what Mr. Trump tweeted after leaving the meeting.
2
The only way you could believe that Trump is respected is to never speak with any foreigners. As a traveler, I speak with many and they are horrified and dismissive. I suppose that you could call it respect to avoid him like a diamondback rattlesnake.
3
Everybody paid up yesterday? Interesting. Trump probably still owes money on his first casino but that is just a minor detail in Trumplandia.
1
NATO will outlast Donald Trump - all the members have a collective interest in this and they will patiently await his eventual demise while they go about business as usual.
11
Wouldn't it be terrific to hear the following from NATO leaders:
"The President of the United States just trashed our alliance. He's also trashed other traditional allies, including Canada and Mexico.
"Just who does he think he is?
"Never before has an American president treated us so poorly, and in such a condescending way. We may have had an occasional conflict here and there, but not once were we ever treated with such disrespect.
"NATO will long outlive Donald Trump, and to those who enable his boorish behavior, our fervent hope is that you teach this bully some manners."
22
Will the Queen cancel her meeting with Trump? That would be lovely indeed.
15
I pray. Sadly, she probably can't. She knows that he would go ballistic and do serious harm in retaliation.
The left's wishes for US treatment abroad are clearly not shared by many Americans, which explains why the left is so unpopular.
Yes, on style Trump does poorly but on substance, much better. This is why his antics are tolerated. He's not wrong.
12
Should have detained him Trump and jailed him for crimes against humanity
11
Such as???
Oh yeah, he speaks badly and he hurts feelings.
I am in no way, shape or form a Trump fan, but your comment is a bit extreme. The list of candidates for your suggestion will have many names on it before Trump qualifies for inclusion. I would nominate Bush the Younger, Cheney, Blair and Assad for starters.
One might want to resort to a more direct approach of communicating with the POTUS:
Hi Donald, I love your New York accent and unconventional way of addressing European politicians who have overstayed their welcome in political life at home. Consider the following: Exactly where you have a point in reminding your European allies that there has never been a free lunch and that they have to pay their fair shares, be specific – “you bloody Germans should generate a nuclear arsenal of your own. We’ll let you have the blueprints of our most cost-intensive models. It is about time that you build atomic-energy driven submarines to cruise along the US East coast and pay a visit to New York City for my personal inspection. These projects would divert your bloody energy and allow General Motors to catch up with Benz and BMW who would now produce tanks and fighter jets instead. Functioning helicopters with spare parts should be chipped in as well. NATO would love to have them. Next, we will help train your Secretaries of Defense who understand how to run their departments. Send them over; General Mattis will be more than happy to enroll them in one of his bootcamps. Y’a know, my grandfather came over from the old country and taught me how to handle lackadaisical compatriots. Don’t feel disturbed by my language. You should think of inviting me and Melanie over and treat me to that specialty of the Palatinate, 'Saumagen' in the local language".
1
I am not a Trump supporter,
However, NATO members must spend 2% of GDP on Defense. This would be terrible for Putin. The Russian economy is the size of Italy, and they won't be able to keep up without bankrupting themselves.
My feeling is that Trump is trying to divide NATO for Putin, thinking this will create friction. But by taking him at his word and calling his bluff by actually increasing spending, it will blow up in Putin's face and strengthen NATO.
Also, remember that most European nations have their own defense industries. They can buy French Rafale Fighters, German Leopard Tanks, Italian FREMM Frigates, Norwegian missiles...this spending doesn't have to benefit the US and Trump's crony's. It can create jobs in Europe.
10
First, it isn’t “must”. Second, it’s not now, it’s by 2024. Third, it’s not an important issue. Trump is doing it all for show for his base base.
15
It reflects poorly on the current state of affairs that much of the world breathes a sigh of relief when the president of the United States reaffirms his support for NATO.
5
Many derogative remarks have been said and written on Mr Trump and his behavior versus other leaders or people in general. The present visit to Europe is, as expected again full of examples.
I agree with many of these remarks. But at the same time Mr Trump has -as many US Administrations before him have indicated- a very valid point as far as sharing defense burdens.
Europe needs to do a lot more on defense. I feel that we, Europeans with a few exceptions, have been free riding on security issues and burden sharing. That also holds true for my own country. We need to do a lot more!
Besides his usual undiplomatic language is there another, better way Mr Trump could effectively increase the pressure on us, its European allies, without actually withdrawing US troops and commitment from Europe?
8
Memo to NATO:
If you let Rump get away with trying to destroy Merkel & May, you will have lost.
Either you stand as one, or you will fall. Period.
9
"The day amounted to a global disruption tour unlike anything undertaken by any other recent American leader, and it seemed to be a new twist on the “special relationship” between Britain and the United States."
NYT please write more precisely and clearly.
Which other NON RECENT American leader has done stuff like this? Not even Rumsfeld, who was recent. I can't think of any...can you?
5
Expansionist Russia?You mean expansionist NATO?Georgia,Ukraine,Moldova etc all being pushed in the american orbit.,meanwhile telling Moscow and The World that you are only defending them against agressive Russia!Who is still believing this narrative?
5
The big difference is that with NATO expansion, sovereign nations join freely and maintain their sovereignty. Russian expansion involves conquest of territory from other sovereign nations against their will.
10
Freely?souvereign?
NATO needs to be overhauled and repurposed. The original purpose for its existence no longer exists (Warsaw Pact). And yes, member countries MUST keep their promise to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense. America no longer needs to be footing the bill for Europe's defense. Europe needs to pay for its own defense. Why is that so hard for some people to understand?
11
The Warsaw Pact was the answer of Russia after The NATO was founded.It is not the other way around.
I am impressed with just how big of an ashcan Americans have chosen to represent them. A bully, a boor, an ignorant and cynical ideologue.
The rest of the world is learning some important lessons, although not the ones Trump and his supporters hope to teach. We are learning that the USA is irrational and untrustworthy. You are still powerful, so we will continue to nod and smile. But we will manage our collective affairs in order to minimize your power over us and our reliance on you.
Good luck with that imperial strategy.
PS
The attacks on Trudeau, Merkle and May - a liberal and two conservatives - is very helpful in reminding conservatives internationally that Trump is not their friend or their ally. Only the neo-Nazis still see the US as their friend right now.
22
Yes, scars - indeed it May. Poor Theresa! And Angela. And the world. World's a stage and we've got the clown act...Not laughing anymore.
9
Is he trying to boost the US defense industry? Typical American, peddling more guns and weapons. As if Europe, or the world, needs a more militarized Germany? Please stop. We've been down that road way too many times. Europe knows that very well.
15
Yes, This Is The Real Politics Going on here: The Munitions Makers Want Europe To Buy It’s Wares And Insist On US Presidents Making that case for them. Since, except for Russia and to some extent France, Europe can only get advance weaponry from the US, They exist between a rock and a hard place . Whatever else Trump wants, he wants to twist Europe’s arms to buy more of our weapons. It’s so sad our press cannot tell us the whole story —on a regular basis—even though they put out news every day,
10
What an insufferable ignoramous. Trump's obviously playing to the MAGA (Make Americans Gullible Again) crowd, for whom he can do no wrong. But batten down the hatches, folks: The blue wave is coming in November.
12
The world must unite in new organizations to wage common struggle against trump
6
Only the globalist at the NYT's would critize truth telling by President Trump to our NATO allies. Too bad defense spending by a majority of our allies confirms the President's position especially given the current lack of readiness of Germany's military.
9
The 'Truth" is what Trump says it is. He would rather climb a tree to tell a lie than stand on solid ground and tell the truth, even when the truth would serve him better.Bully, coward, liar, there were no surprises ..except, perhaps Teresa May. How rude, how crude,how unacceptable.
“The UK loves me”. I beg to differ Trump. The majority of Britain loathes and despises you as you represent everything that is abhorrent to us. You are uncouth, vulgar, ignorant and spectacularly lacking in any class whatsoever. And that’s just your personal traits. In terms of your absolute inability to grasp even the fundamentals of what it takes to successfully run a country, you leave us speechless. Well, not quite as the impressive number of demonstrations taking place around England robustly and loudly can attest to. I am proud of England. The fact that they can be bothered to mobilize and take the time to show you that your brand of vulgar and dishonest governance has not and will not go unchecked is so much more than most of your detractors here are prepared to do.
So please. You’re deceiving nobody but yourself by trying to tell us how much you are loved in the UK. You are reviled by most of us and it would be a great help if you were to desist from trying to tell us how to run our country, or Theresa May how to exit from the EU or threaten us with no trade deals if we opt for a Hard Brexit. You are singularly uninformed about the complexities of the matter and your opinion on anything is not worth the paper it’s written on. The sooner you leave Britain, the better. You are not welcome here and I’m sure your supporters back in the US have missed your gloating and boasting, your lying and obscene rhetoric. Save the rest for them.
14
The turmoil is leaving scars.
The Europeans got scars on their fingers from trying to pry open the wallets they had all glued shut in the hopes that the US would pay.
3
Again, NATO helps subsidize munition makers and other US businesses—that’s the bottom line.
6
This man is deranged. There is no other possible explanation for it. His behaviour is so far beyond normal bounds that he must be incapable of processing information and moderating emotions in the way almost everyone else does. He doesn't even have the simplest of manners.
8
Mandatory drug tests for the president and his/her cabinet. Now! These people have really gone off the rails and need to be fired for their use/abuse of illegal substances. Either that or they are straight out insane and need to be under a doctor's care.
8
The President just abdicated (threw away) his post as "Leader of the Free World" which every day Trump makes less free.
Historically, American Presidents have intervened in the domestic affairs of foreign nations, all too often to ill effect, exemplified by Nixon's covert meddling in Chile. Nothing approaches the sheer stupidity of Trump's public condemnation of Teresa May, on the eve of a vote of confidence, and her approach ro Brexit.
By expressing a preference for Boris Johnson, Trump has ensured his defeat should he challenge Ms. May. (An 11% favorability rating among the Brits makes sure that Trump's views will not sway United Kingdom voters to do anything he wants.) I'm guessing Trump's support of Brexit may put some life in those Brits would like to vote again on EU ties and, above all, encourage a Labor/Jeremy Corbin comeback.
Did anyone notice his red face, strange grimaces and eyes that could be described as crazed? Is it possible the President is on the verge of a crack-up?
8
I'd say he's midway through one.
3
No, Donnie cannot come out and play. He is grounded for being a very bad boy.
2
Of course Trump would single out two women leaders - Merkel and Mays - for targeted put downs and bullying. He’s a pathetic coward who picks on those he perceives as vulnerable or weak, and that includes most women whether they deserve his appraisal or not. I hope these powerful women leaders ignore him and his despicable conduct. Their citizens abhor him like most of us do, so they might actually gain popular support for doing so.
9
Our allies, perhaps inadvertently, have discovered a way to deal with Trump---negogiate the serious matters ahead of time and put the results into a document with as many pages as possible, guaranteeing that he won't actually read it before signing. Then refer to the document whenever Trump makes his usual fact-free statements.
13
A visibly shaken NATO, Putin must be ecstatic.
5
The EU members will forgive and forget but we must get rid of the madman who lives in the White House in 2020. If not, then things may be irreparable.
3
how much can we save by firing trump, his administration and congress without pensions, offices and secret service?
4
Why are the NATO partners putting up with this nonsense? The other NATO countries can easily absorb the $30 billion that the U.S. pays into NATO, they should call his bluff and ask him to withdraw all U.S. troops from Europe and issue a strict passport policy and stop overflights of U.S. aircraft including Hair Force One over Europe and then re-arm itself. This man is a danger to the world, especially Europe. And Eastern Asia.
Clearly, two observations are obvious to me, he has to be the "Big Kahuna" in any room and he does not like women in power. Angela Merkel, who I consider to be the next leader of the western world after Obama, is smarter, better educated, way better educated than Trump and a leader of people. In fact they are not even in the same universe. He. Just. Cannot. Stand. It.
5
Again: Trump is acting at the behest of strategic big businesses. Ignoring this explains why there appears to be no rhyme or reason to his actions. Once you see that a large number of giant business and financial institutions benefit from Trumps actions, you will see how he offers mostly distractions to prevent the press from reporting on how is actions are enriching and empowering a number of very select big businesses. Proof: look at the stock market. Remember big business makes money when they fire people. Unemployment is only an issue when the politics of it looks bad. Tariffs hurt small and medium size businesses, making many of them run into the arms/loans of big banks. Etc. Keep to this narrative and it will all, at the very least, make sense if nothing else.
1
I keep having this image of "el sendero luminoso" - to destroy everything, thinking that a new social order can be built from its ashes. It doesn't work.
Why isn’t this story getting reported?!
“President Trump announced today that he will pay all U.S. taxes that he avoided since 1976, to demonstrate to NATO the principle of paying one's fair share. He tweeted: ‘SAD nato countrys...I’ll show them how to pay their fair share. I was SMART to not pay tacks but now I’ll pay aLL I avoided since 1976.’ He later said, ‘I’ve used a LOT of benefits from this country - its protections, services, and so much more. Me and my family are very, very rich and comfortable because we took full advantage of all that. And here I’m asking the NATO countries to pay THEIR fair share for the benefits THEY get from us. So I’m putting my money where my mouth is.’ The president said he will pay the full amount over the next year, out of personal and business funds and not Trump Foundation funds. ‘Next year I'll have paid more taxes than anyone in the world,’ he said. ‘I don’t just talk the talk, I walk the walk. Many people, thousands of people are calling to tell me not to bother, that I’ve done enough for the country. But I want to do more. I want to pay my fair share.’ Mr. Trump also said he will make public all of his tax returns since 1976, ‘so people will know, once and for all, that I’m not a liar.’ He said he chose 1976 ‘because that’s 250 years from the start of this great nation, and I’m giving it a new start.’ It is estimated that the total of taxes that Mr. Trump avoided exceeds ten million dollars before inflation and could be much more."
3
Is this satire?
Trump intends to destroy NATO alliance
politically, economically, militarily
1
The enemy is us for allowing him to be elected.
2
Stable genius is tougher on America’s longtime allies than he plans to be on America’s longtime enemy. Who is winning here? Putin or America?
3
The high point of this week was the thing about Jesus getting stopped at the border. It could only go up from there...or so we thought. According to the JAPCC, "Eight of the nine F-35 partner nations are members of NATO" so basically president Trump is biting the hand that feeds it, again. Can you really blame Europe for spending more on realistic things like education instead of a huge military machine?
1
Dear Americans,
My grandfather was a Nazi prisoner in the Buchenwald concentration camp.
According to his testimony, he also owes his life to the American army, which advanced on Buchenwald and forced the SS to leave Buchenwald.
So I owe my life indirectly to courageous Americans.
This is the America that I carry in my heart. Open, sincere, courageous, in love.
Since the time I was a child in East Germany, I felt connected to you.
That will never change.
America doesn't have to become "again" great, whoever says that denies their own history.
Anyone who says such a thing denies many achievements of which one can rightly be proud.
And yes, the people who have made great sacrifices for this country and for us are also degraded.
A united America was and is great, just like that.
3
Trying to blow up the EU, boost far right anti-immigrant parties, and unseat the Prime Minister all at one go. Is irritating liberals really enough reason to support this?
4
I would love to see a meeting such as NATO, or the G7, where the participants just get up and walk out once Trump starts lambasting them.
For them to sit there squirming as unwilling props to a president drunk on power and ego is just excruciating to watch.
If he can't handle himself with even a modicum of the decorum befitting his office, ( he clearly can't), then the world needs to shun him, and disinvite him.
Meetings with his participation are pointless.
6
The NATO deadbeats needed to be held by the scruff of their necks and shaken. President Trump could care less about "diplomacy" when the US is being fleeced on trade and on military spending. The fundamental question he posed to a stuttering Stoltenberg remained unanswered: why are you exposing yourself to strategic dependence on Russian energy and filling its coffers, while at the same time using US taxpayer money to defend yourselves from a Russian attack? He must maintain pressure to ensure that these well-coiffed posturers pay their fair share. As for May, her fawning reception of the president, while spurning his advice as she attempts a Brexit-lite, is a fitting swan-song for the worst prime minister in British history.
3
Vote the monster out ASAP. Start by voting Democratic across the board this November. Hold your nose if you must but if you have any decency at all you must reject the brazen corruption, authoritarianism and attempts to hijack the democracy into a theocracy with every ounce of your energy. You can still be a patriot ever if you are in the GOP. Prove it.
2
America: spend as much of your GDP as you wish on defence. It’s your sovereign right.
NATO: emulate America. Spend as little as you want. It’s your sovereign right.
1
This man is a contagion. Incompetent, a liar and we need to stop his spreading poisonous hate wherever he goes. He has cowered Congress here. No one shows any push back in any meaningful way.
When he returns to the States the checks and balances ( if they work !) need to be put into action by the body politic. More damage to the world, our values, cultures and vision must be curtailed, corralled, stopped.
And I hope the CIA are listening to his one to one with Putin?
1
White men need to pull up trou and stop panicking. Think your race is in decline? First question you gotta ask: why don't more women want your babies? Maybe losing weight, getting an education, and becoming a good provider might be a good start. There you go, solved!
What? No good-paying jobs? Try asking your GOP representatives to get their donors to bring back the factories, and try learning that trade unions are actually on your side. Not all trade is bad, either, some of it creates jobs. Still unsure? See below.
What? Kids unhealthy or failing in life? Try asking your GOP representatives to invest in a modern education that would finally allow today's Americans to compete in a tough, smart world.
What, don't like "smart?" Well, there you go. When you think knowing stuff is "elite" -- maybe because it disallows stupid ideas -- you are just not going to get too many people wanting your babies, or won't have the money to finance them, sorry.
Back-holler attitude gets a back-holler life, them's the breaks.
7
Even protesting crowd on the London streets looks fans to Trump.
Remarkable, isn’t it, that May and Merkel are the NATO leaders that Trump has criticized most. Is he explicitly aware of his hatred of powerful women?
Trump often boasts of promoting the careers of women, but only those that he employed under him. Any woman that he can’t control is a woman that he is compelled to destroy.
5
The NATO dynamics become real when Putin moves into Latvia and/or Estonia "to protect ethnic Russians," and the US looks the other way or encourages them. Europe cannot / will not go into a warlike posture without the US and NATO is history.
Turmoil because NATO countries do not want to hear the U.S. taxpayer has been supporting their safety since WWII? Too bad, finally a president who cares about the U.S. taxpayer and says it like it is. He is not a political player and that folks is why he got elected and will again for a second term. It had to be said and it is about time.
4
We don't have to support NATO members. we choose to do so. IF you want to save us taxpayers money, we can simply cut our own defense spending. Maybe we can cut it to 2% of GDP, like everyone else.
3
It's both hilarious and sad the you believe he's doing this because he cares about the American tax payer.
I'll say this for Chump, he certainly knows how to take advantage of the feeble-minded.
1
Sounds like this may be the posture we’ve taken, and I don’t wholly disagree with it as a narrative.
1
I watched as much coverage of the NATO meeting as I could stomach. There was Trump, acting like it was an honorarium for him, and as though he was the leader. In fact, he was the embarrassment. Were it not for America representing a vital cog in this machine that has kept a world somewhat peaceful for the last 60 years, I am sure most of the other leaders would have been grateful if he had not attended. I would love to hear how an expert on body language would analyze Trump. At least this year he didn't shove anyone out of the way to get to the front...he merely showed up late and entered the group FROM the front -- and flashed a smile that was worthy of any Miss Universe participant. His attitude was obnoxious, and made even worse by his inability to state anything in coherent presentation. I am beyond embarrassed. But it is really our fault...of the "We The People" when less than 50% of us that are eligible to vote don't even make the effort. In some countries, people put their lives at risk to get to the polls...and they don't even get the privileges that we do. So beyond our criticisms of and shame about Trump, we really need to resist, shout, demonstrate, volunteer, contribute and VOTE come November, lest we find ourselves without a Democracy to vote for.
4
Trump's comments were intended for his Fox audience. They will show what he says, and they will never show what the Europeans said after. It is propaganda, pure and simple. Fox News: all propaganda, all the time.
4
We can only hope that in 2020 Europeans and Americans can both look back on the Trump administration as a temporary aberration.
2
NATO will be OK. The Europeans need and want NATO. Having to sit and listen to Trump's bluster is a minor nuisance at worst. Bad optics. Nothing more than that.
3
Scars can serve a purpose. They remind one of past follies and help discourage repeat behavior.It is not America's job to mollify Europe's wounded pride. For too long America has been the victim of European entitlement, avarice and disdain. When it comes to dealing with terminally spoiled children a little dose of applied psychology goes a long way.
I am beyond bewildered. I don't think there was ever a time in American History when we had a President who lied so routinely about everything and yet his followers still continued to follow and believe him despite the obviousness of his lies.
Nor do I think this President could do more harm to American interests and give more advantage to our advisory then if he worked for Putin.
As with this presidents lying there has never been a time in American History when we had a President who so routinely did so much harm to the nation and yet his followers still continued to follow and support him despite the obviousness of his treasonous conduct.
No since Benedict Arnold - a close aid to Washington - have we had someone in so much power do so much harm to our nation.
All of this is really quite beyond belief.
2
Trump gets his talking points directly from Putin.
This is why these private phone calls and meetings must be stopped.
Sunlit transparency must shine into this smoke filled room before the damage is irreversible.
2
The US president is a foreign asset doing their bidding and tearing down the western alliance and US safety net. All while congress complicity ignores it all. I am convinced the republican leadership has been in league with the Russians since the Bush administration
4
Up until now World leaders have bit their tongue when meeting Trump. I predict that soon the gloves will come off and Trump will be dealt comments as good as he gives.
I wonder how that will propagate down to the respective citizenry when addressing each other. Hopefully civility amongst peoples of the World does not degenerate!?
1
Trump challenged them in public to increase their financial commitment to NATO. He publicly chastised them for passing the cost on to the US. What did we get in return? A commitment to increase their financial commitment, but by their own admission not to the full 2% till 2024.
They weathered Obama and will tolerate Trump because the US political landscape changes every 4-8 yrs. Trump at least had the metal to call them on their nonsense. The only scars are some wounded egos! If the US actually started to reduce its NATO commitment they would go balastic. America's foreign policy, as stated by Jean Kirkpatrick, has always been one of influence through financial aid and support.
We've paid the bill for years and they know it!
2
No he didn’t. Another media outlet using Trump to sell.
2
You are citing facts Baz - you know and I know and many people know you are right on the money. But the base? Facts aren't in their world view.
The Republican Party is no longer the Republican Party it is the Trump party, they are like a bunch of tourists following the person holding the flag when guiding the tour and they are likely to walk over the edge of the cliff following the guide. Blind faith or just looking at the next election. We no longer have leadership just people wanting to keep the power and the next paycheck.
4
I hate to use the form, "President Trump." I prefer Mr. Trump for I think of the President of the United Sates as dignified, thoughtful, civil, empathetic, and trying to unite us. I strain to be civil as I watch Mr Trump play the role of bully, seemingly to take pleasure from suffering, incapable of empathy and soiling the dignity of the office. Everytime he goes abroad, I feel as if I must apologize for Mr. Trump's embarrassing behavior. And, I will not go into detail about my fear that Mr. Trump is compromised.
How can any serious news organization report on this aberration of a president? DJT is a teevee person. maybe that is a bad reflection on this country, in that our citizens prefer a tv guy, but somehow, stop it. Stop reporting on Trump as if he worthy, he is not and start reporting on his unworthiness. PLEASE.
1
NYT is a newspaper not a blog. If one wants to hear 24-hour president bashing they should turn to CNN. I’d prefer unbiased facts.
The damage being done by this man is almost impossible to describe. As long as he keeps his base of isolationist "christian" fundamentalists in his pocket there is no end in sight. How happy will these folks be when they feel the effects of economic and political isolationism: dealing with inflation, increased unemployment and a lack of trustworthy international allies --- oh never mind ---- they'll be so thrilled with their imposition of 1950's morality on the country that nothing else will matter
1
I’m sure our relationship with every nation is special nowadays. Including our own.
1
There are xenophobic groups in England, who might welcome another chance to take power. I saw a clip of Russian news today in which the announcer praised Trump for the dissension he sowed in NATO. 'We could not have done it better ourselves' she said. I think the Democrats bungled the recession, and gave Trump a chance. Now the racists are coming out of the woodwork. Are the Democrats racist too? they have presented no ideas except 'get out the vote' for which they CONSTANTLY beg for money. ( I think the losing party should forfeit their salaries as punishment for incompeten ce ).
As most people prefer their cell phones to people, I expect the worst.
Trump's incompetence is destroying Nato. The French must be saying "I told you so". They have always argued that you can't trust the US and that the only assurance is the possession of nuclear weapons of their own. I suspect that all of the members of Nato are now reconsidering how much America's promises are worth and how they can ensure that they can do enough damage to St Petersburg and Moscow to deter Putin from invading their countries
2
For the sake of clarity: The NATO agreement signed by world leaders was barely a promise and not a binding obligation or law. All of this was for show in front of cameras.
NATO is mostly diplomatic hot air from all sides -- though Trump was certainly the most ridiculous person there.
3
We don't have a mechanism to recall the President, so all we can do is vote out the members of Congress too craven to prosecute the case against his fitness (and intentions, seemingly.)
7
Is there no insurance against a POTUS who denigrates, maligns, and devalues relationships with allies, and praises adversaries while strengthening relationships with them? A POTUS who took the US military by surprise by cancelling joint US-South Korean exercises in a “gesture of good faith” to Pyongyang? A POTUS who rejected the Iran nuclear deal? Who’s intent on fracturing NATO? Who’s begun a full-blown trade war with long-time allies? Who’s threatening to withdraw troops from Europe and cut defense funds to US European Command?
Surely this is the very definition of insanity, and legitimate grounds for the 25th Amendment to be invoked?
5
More than Donald Trump, it is the Press which is responsible for the present disarray in NATO. In 2014, NATO Members resolved to move towards 2% of National Budgets for Defense by 2024. There was no commitment at all to spend 2% of Budget annually for Defense by 2024. The US & European Press & Media totally failed to Expose this key Truth before the world. Germany has fulfilled this 2014 commitment. But the US & European Press failed to publicise Germany’s adherence to its NATO commitment. Instead, the Press has found it sensational & self-serving to highlight Donald Trump’s Obnoxious Lies about Defence spending by NATO members.
In any case, History is witness that Military conflicts have always been won by the superior Resolve of the Victor, not the superior weaponry or numbers of any party. North Vietnam, Israel, Britain are living examples of their military victories against overwhelming adversaries in the 20th century.
1
“In the end I think the meeting was less divisive than feared,” said Alexander Vershbow, a former NATO deputy secretary general. “I think it’s the reality show that the president loves. There wasn’t enough drama, so Trump has a tantrum, knocks over the table, and allies are used as props in his reality show.”
And that people, says it all.
6
@laura174
We do not have "no confidence" changes of Government. We must wait 4 years to elect a President. Impeachment and Removal from office is very difficult in practice. If Trump committed some terrible crime, then he could be pressured to resign like Richard Nixon in 1974.
3
If NATO members can't bring their defense budgets to 4% GDP, then the US should cut by 50% its contribution to NATO.
1
Despite what the critics say, President Donald J. Trump triumphed at the NATO meeting. He left them cowering in their boots; his threat to leave the organization scarred them and they capitulated to his demand that they pay, at least, their fair share. NATO is undergoing a revolution, the likes of which it has not seen under any US President. Because of the size of USA's great economy, we will always contribute more to NATO. Germany should be next, but it has chosen to spend money on Russian energy, making itself beholden to Vladimir Putin. NATO should heed President Trump's word and get with reality. Thank you.
1
According to the study mentioned in this article, the expenditure of the US towards NATO is around 31 bn USD which is about 5% of the whole defense budget of the USA. Or, seeing that the military budget is about 3,5% of the GDP, the NATO portion is 0,17% (5% of 3,5%). 0,17% of the US GDP goes to NATO! Hardly a figure supporting the allegation of Trump (and previous US presidents that we Europeans live on the expense of the USA.
I wish our politicians would be smart enough to use a pocket calculator to get those numbers straightened out if IQ 45.
2
That's billions wasted on NATO at American taxpayer expense that could have been spent, for example, on infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
Time to bring the troops and equipment home--if they cared a dot about Americans, they would have been paying 2% plus twenty years ago.
Trump's right: Nothing but a bunch of "Good-Time Charlies".
2
We spend more than double on defense compared to number two, China. The amount we pay into NATO is a drop in that ocean. We could save tens of billions for infrastructure easily, but we don't because the military industrial complex decides what we spend, not us. And the rant of our baby man President is about more business for them, it's not about defense.
Stop believing everything this liar says and start thinking for yourself.
1
Really? Let's look at the NATO country security cost "increases" due to Trump, Bush Jr. and to some extent Obama. Here's the list: NATO countries have contributed soldiers and money to help fight U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trump threatened them to back out of the multi-nation Iran agreement and boycott Iran's oil, which will send their oil costs higher; Trump sold planes and arms to Saudi Arabia which has used them against Yemen creating a humanitarian crisis; Trump sided with Israel against Palestinians and halved meager U.S. aid sent to Palestinian relief orgs; Trump dropped a mega ton of bombs on 1 or 2 sites in Syria and has no coherent policy there. Trump slapped a blockade on Qatar, site of the largest U.S. base in the M.E. Along with the failure to hold Putin and other M.E. strong men to account, U.S. policies have helped send millions running for their lives to Europe. So the case can be made that NATO allies are paying MORE than their fare share due to America's short-sighted policies and arrogance and Putin's support for Syria's dictator; a calculated strategy to flood Europe with refugees. Dissing NATO, applying punitive tariffs, lying about and to our long-time allies--is not "success".
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/opinion/americas-forever-wars.html
66
Dear European neighbors: the imposter in the WH is a narcissistic sociopath and addict; one of the hardest combined diagnosis' in the DSM to treat and contain. Our best mental health specialists and national security experts are on it--but we haven't yet figured out how to penetrate the Fox Faux News porn and other Russian-fueled angry-white-men-as-victim narratives to stop him and his enablers and nullify their threat to democracy and the world order. In the meantime, we hope you and other allies will do everything you can to protect yourselves and take appropriate defensive measures. We're determined that strategies will reveal themselves for dealing with this mad man. Please stay strong and know we are very sorry!
88
Well stated!
1
The streets of London are alive. Keep the focus on the demonstrators. There and across the country. That is where the passion lies. That is where imaginations flies. That is where we can catch a glimpse of the future.
Cover the rest the way demonstrations usually are covered.
55
Why, not US voters? British protestors via our Sovietized media will somehow change the minds of voters in West Virginia, Utah, Texas, California et al.? Not.
1
We must recognize that what we are seeing from President Trump, isn't a coherent policy for the United States and our future positioning in the global marketplace. What we are witnessing is Trump's PERSONAL vision for HIM and his vision of himself not as President of the United States, but as the "Colossus," he believes himself to be. These policy pronouncements and comments and projections are what Trump sees of Trump (in the third-person) when he acts out his fantasies of greatness (in the mirror or in his mind)...
This is all a Trump personal fantasy, not a considered approach to craft a better future for the American people.
We really must quash this fantasy and vote this man out of office first chance we get (and that includes supporting and urging yea votes from members of Congress who might be called upon to vote on Articles of Impeachment).
78
In international relations, everyone gets a label. Trump has been still a wild card until recently, but no more. He’s Putin’s ally and Europa’s enemy. Good luck trying to change this one, America!
66
It's all getting interesting.
Folks love to have a POTUS opine on everything.
And when a POTUS opines - the world shudders and the POTUS gets hammered.
We indeed have a different POTUS who appreciates that for better or worse, his pronouncements generate headlines.
And this POTUS is turning out to be an Archie Bunker (he is also a New Yorker) who loves to opine whether it scandalizes some or not.
We are re living Archie Bunker and will probably do so for next 6 plus years.
Perhaps, we may then go back to what we always though would be normal times.
Though I doubt it post this POTUS.
12
An Archie bunker with a penchant for destruction and delusional fantasy’s. Soon the economy will opine its response and then we can brace ourselves for a truly hellish wake up.
I love real journalism with real quotes: "There wasn’t enough drama, so Trump has a tantrum, knocks over the table, and allies are used as props in his reality show.”
This was said about his affront to NATO. Then he waltzes into Britain, walks hand in hand with the PM while reports about his real opinion of her fall like hand grenades.
"There wasn't enough drama." Once in awhile a quote says volumes. The man in charge is a bomb thrower.
32
Is Trump planning on repaying NATO forces for the 1100 soldiers who gave their lives in AMERICAN wars? Not to mention the countless number of men and who were permanently disabled. I can't remember if the United States has even said 'thank you' for the blood NATO spilled.
Trump is the personification of the 'ugly American'. Americans are quick to disavow him online, but don't seem to be capable of doing anything to stop him. Is it a case of 'can't' or 'won't'?
65
Both.
Trump has a solid 30% who think he can do no wrong. He has a powerful propaganda machine, which makes up stories and myths to explain the dodgy bits. If it ain't on Fox News it ain't real. The Republican legislature is terrified of that 30% which makes up the core of their base. They also have a powerful .01% who have lots of money and will spend it to activate the base on their behalf.
He doesn't represent the majority of Americans, but that large of a minority has power, especially the way the election rules are set.
The upcoming mid term elections will be a test of the American people. I'm not sure what the outcome will be. This is a nation that is anti-intellectual and proud of being dumb and dumber. The new media has effects that are unpredictable. Lies spread faster and farther than complicated, boring truth.
1
For me it’s “can’t”. I’m surrounded by Red State Trump supporters. I vote. I tweet. I bemoan, all to no avail. The US is going through a dumb period now, and frankly, I’m ashamed to be American. Hopefully, I’ll have reason to be proud again sometime soon. In the meantime, when I visit your country, please remember there are other Yanks who share my view, and we are the most likely to travel.
A number of my friends have commented on how the POTUS seems to think that all NATO countries are to be treated like colonies, not sovereign nations, and their leaders like small children in need of guidance. For us, this type of behaviour is deeply offensive. Certainly, we know that not all Americans think this way, but all of us have made experiences of POTUS-like American arrogance in the past. Obama, he was the one to make America the City Upon A Hill, but the POTUS of today? Poor America.
1
So Trump doesn't like the baby blimp image of him flying above London, good because he gets what he deserves.
The British are saying that they are not against America but that they are against Trump.
Smart people.
70
Reagan got us don the con unfortunately..... Conservatives run amuck. Look a Bavaria, Hungry, Poland, Brexit favoring Brits. Time for progressives to take back the world.
1
Dear Rest of the World,
This is just a note to let you know that most of us Americans despise our president. Please hang in there with us while we ride out this nightmare and elect a decent, healthy and strong person to lead us forward.
Yours truly,
America
105
I wish this was true. A majority, maybe. But most, not. Although most should.
1
You do not speak for me. The silent majority support Trump
President Trump will be reelected in 2020. The Democratic Party was mortally wounded in Nov 2016, and will never be in control of the House, the Senate or the Presidency.
The voting bloc of under-40 cannot tear themselves away from the games and porn on their phones long enough to even register to vote.
They didn't like Reagan either, and look what happened to the USSR.
3
The USSR didn't disintegrate because of Reagan. LOL. No. It imploded because its own economy as they say these days, wasn't "sustainable". Give you an example. In the USSR if you wanted to pour a concrete floor for anything you might need a concrete floor for, you had to wait years until the state decided you could have one. Well, most people decided not to wait and so you would hire a guy (strictly on the QT) who had access to concrete to do the job. Well, that makes both you and him criminals b/c you're stealing from the state AND the state loses a lot of concrete which it never gets paid for. Multiply this thousands of times across many industries and you get an economy that grinds to a halt. And that's only one factor. Rampant corruption (and the guy selling you the concrete is an example) was another. LOL. It wasn't Reagan. As someone else said "it's the economy silly".
1
Reagan didn't do that. The USSR had been in decline for a long time.
Yeah, it turned into a country that is outsmarting and outfoxing western democracies all over the place.
I don’t think stable geniuses call themselves “stable geniuses”.
72
So the whole basics of this article is to denigrate what President Trump accomplished, strengthening NATO. Bad bad President Trump for making the NATO members responsible for their own defense. The fact during the President Obama apology administration, NATO became a ghost of itself, and Germany spent next to nothing is ok with the liberals.
NATO will be become what it should be, thanks to President Trump. America citizens is not stupid, neither are the European citizen. that's why Merkel days are numbered, as they should be.
10
Can someone please explain how on the earth they got this man and his giant ego on Airforce One let alone Mrs Trump and all the others??? It is a given down under he is the new world hero who has gone into Europe and got all of them to pay up for NATO. What a guy!!! Now he is England telling their leader what she has done wrong - what a guy!!! I am a bit worried with his new found world leadership it may be out turn next.
16
Amen to that.
May should just show Trump the door.
28
Putin's puppet promoting Russian hegemony - perhaps in payment of the puppet's golden shower - sad
36
i'd be hard put to come up with an uglier American.....
54
The Compulsive Liar-in-Chief attacks our closest allies. Make Russia Great Again!
32
Probably not worth saying again but Trump speaks pure gibberish. The reason it’s so easy for him to lie is because words are meaningless to him. Feel bad for future historians who have to spend time studying his nonsense statements.
110
Trump is acting like Putin's waterway. So much of what Trump says seems aimed at gratuitously weakening the US alliances with democracies. Trump grabs onto every contentious issue, and tries to magnify it to the detriment of the alliance of democracies. There is something seriously wrong here.
49
Yes you maybe right that all that bullying might perhaps raise the total spending by a couple of 100k. Indeed some leaders might be a little bit intimidated to the point of contributing more to military spending. But I must make you aware of the simple fact that diplomacy would have been by far a much efficient mean for Trump to get his point taken seriously since Obama with diplomacy got much better than a couple of 100k. But don't take my word for it, you'll find all you need in the public domain to be in order to make a conclusion.
16
Like the diplomacy that's been so effective over the past 16 years? Please.
6
Mr. Trump is President of the United States, NOT the President of His Base. He seems to forget this simple fact.
Not content to divide the American people, he acts to divide Britain, the Transatlantic Alliance and, sadly, refugee families with infant children.
I hope we will be able to separate him from the White House, and not just on the weekends, when he spends millions of taxpayers dollars flying to and from his golf courses.
He really does have no shame. No need to ask.
135
I would remind everyone that he also claimed that all Nukes were going from North Korea after meeting with Un. How's that working for ya?
24
Please don't describe what Trump is doing in Europe as "diplomacy". Diplomacy has nothing to do with bullying, bragging and belittling allies. Neither does blatant lying. The fact that this terribly flawed man represents the United States is heartbreaking.
62
Trump simply stood NATO on its head. You can see it.
2
There is a huge difference between paying 90 percent of the costs of NATO, as our idiot president casually remarks, and paying 67 percent. He can't even get basic - and I mean basic - figures right! He is a slap in the face to everyone who works conscientiously to get their facts straight at their jobs. He simply does not care if he tells the truth or a lie. It is all the same to him.
Again, I'll remind everyone: anyone occupying the office of the president of the United States works for us. If you were a boss, and had an employee whose work was consistently as sloppy as Trump's is, wouldn't you fire him? We have a chance to call him onto the carpet and give him a really bad performance review in November. Let's do it.
33
This is the most offensive behavior that a US president has ever exhibited on the world scene. This president is a traitor at the service of president Putin. This president is a clown on the international scene. This president is totally controlled by his neurotic desire to please his base of the right-wing side of what used to be the Republican party. This president is causing more damage to democracy and freedom in the US and around the world. His behavior is a total embarrassment to all Americans and all the leaders and citizens of the world. It might fun for Cadet-Bone-Spurs to behave like that inside a hotel room in Moscow but it is a total outrage to see that kind of performance on behalf of America.
36
I'm certain the Senate's 97-2 vote in favor of NATO put our President in a tantrum. To his sitters, sorry, but then it's your choice. At least the taxpayers will see that you're payed.
22
Trump has unified NATO like no other American president.
They all agree he's an idiot and a thug.
108
One would think that the gravity of the office and being in the company of real leaders would give Trump pause. What an idiot.
27
Don't let this guy get anywhere near the Queen.
39
I do believe Her Majesty can hold her own against even this blowhard. She is a lady without peer and has seen it all before! Besides, maybe one of the Corgis will bite him!
25
NATO to America ... 'I feel your pain'!
20
This was stated in the Times before, but it's worth repeating:
Washington could not tell a lie.
Nixon could not tell the truth.
Trump cannot tell the difference.
24
I am presuming thatTrump supporters read newspapers. Not necessarily the NYT or Washington Post, but whatever local newspaper delivers their news. Is this a stretch too far?
1
Take heed...When democracy breathes its last breath, Mr. Trump will blame everyone but himself. But it will be too late to do anything.
15
I am truly ashamed to be an American and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
30
Can the Hague Court arrest Trump for crimes against humanity?
5
Lies, lies, and more lies by Trump. He gets away with it because he's backed by enough US citizens, a Republican-controlled Congress, and a SCOTUS in cahoots. If this is not a total failure in US democracy then I don't know what it is.
30
It is remarkable that Russia views NATO as a threat to its security and has, over the last 70 years of NATO's existence, did what it could to undermine the organization. Trump, through his bellicose rantings, has done more in a year and one-half to subvert the organization than Russia.
3
Are other world leaders so cowardly that not one of them can confront Trump with a very simple question, a question asked every day in the real world: "Why are you lying, Mr. President? Because they, of anyone, should be able to back him into a corner with facts. And do it in front of the cameras so the world can see it. If there is one thing that bullies always detest, it is being belittled in public by superior minds (not difficult in this case, surely). It's worth a try because all this insincere political politeness is a complete nonsense, especially after he's just insulted everyone. That only makes them look weak, and that's exactly what Trump does like.
16
So you’re expecting other world leaders to do something that the republicans won’t do in Congress?
6
Since many many people don't read newspapers, but do respond to soundbites and bumper stickers, I have long wished the NYT, WP and other credible sources would, every day, on the fron page, in a block, print in the fewest words possible, the lie of the day, and the correct information also in a few words. ( The in depth articles would stay as they are currently.) I think if this was done, it would catch on and maybe even make social media.
20
The farce goes on the road. Lies, insults, braggadocio. Same act, different locale.
36
He is 100% delusional and is totally supported by Republican officeholders.
One can only hope and pray that the ship of state sinks.
Then this geographic location can be repopulated by future generations of immigrants. The current US population has shown itself as unworthy both in poisoning the children of Flint Michigan and in the kidnapping of Hispanic children.
We need to be rebooted, like in the time of Noah. And it will happen.
16
Trying to appease Trump does nothing. Trying to persuade him does not work one iota. Trying to befriend him, wine him, dine him, or soften him up on the golf course gets one nowhere. Negotiating with him is an exercise in futility. Being polite to him invites intolerable brashness. Everyone decent who somehow becomes associated with Trump suffers the reverse Midas touch of degradation. Of course, then, one should not plan to meet with Trump. One should not meet with him. One should not respond to him. One should not invite him to anything. If he shows up anyway, one should make a point of walking out publicly and meeting somewhere else to decide the substantive matters, then announce the results to the world. If he yells at you, yell back harder. It doesn't matter who's right or wrong. What matters is that you stand up to a bully, lest the cycle of abuse grow deeper. When Trump insists on negotiating, don't respond. You must remember that there is no point and that any response will only hurt you. If you want to conduct business with a reasonable American, do it with the Governor of California. Go ahead and let Trump try to pull the US out of NATO. That will only add more pressure to the feckless sellouts of the GOP leadership to possibly, finally get a spine and act to save the nation they will have to live in from becoming a vassal of Russian intelligence.
35
Thanks, it seems to be the only recipe!
6
Thanks, it seems to be the only recipe!
2
Sign on the sidewalk outside a London fish market: Free Bags of Fish Guts To Throw At Trump.
14
My question to all of you is;
Why is Trump not only lowers the NATO spending to the 2% of the other members? (or lesser)
Why? He cut all other payments of UN or Health care?
Because he only likes that the other spend more so he could ask that NATO buying more weapons from the US. This would make the US stronger and they can abuse the others more.
Nobody falls for his rhetoric anymore, only Hannity, Fox and friends and some people in the Rust bell of America. SAD
14
Would anyone let a child, or a student in a classroom get away with this behavior? Everyone knows, the more a child gets away with, the more outrageous their behavior becomes. We all know that kid who disrupts for the sheer pleasure of it. Why do we allow the President of the United States to get away with it?
18
The President is saying and doing things that needed to be spoken and done long time ago, however nobody had the guts and resolve.
American goods, companies and troops are resented Europe and that has been the case for many years. How long will we pretend it’s the opposite?
5
He is saying and doing things that needed to be spoken and done a long time ago? Really? Like expressing distain for democratic leaders and admiration for dictators, thugs and fascists? To paraphrase, his is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying our country's fall from grace and its rise to infamy until it is heard no more.
Believe it or not, we may need those "distained allies" for some future military blunder he gets us into. Bullying, belittling, betraying,bellicosity and split personality diplomacy are no way to win long-term support. Stable genius, indeed.
Wow, another dot connected. Thank you.
3
You mean presidents should have started lying years ago? To what effect? The don con achieved zero except to make US a laughing stock.
16
This gas-can wielding man has to go, the sooner the better. And I'm being liberal with the term "man."
21
There are so simply no more words left to describe this president. Oxford dictionary may need to coin some new words from here onward. That he fears powerful women was known but now proven with his despicable behavior towards Angela Merkel.
41
How about "just what America needed"?
Of course our allies made 'no new pledges for increasing spending' and of course Trump lied about it. He and his camaraderie with Putin is probably what they are most concerned with at this time. His attacks on the countries who people have shed blood in our defense is an utter disgrace. America we can do better than this!
27
No doubt NATO, the G-7... indeed... the entire civilized world... . will be greatly relieved when the bizarre Trump carnival finally pulls down the tents and moves on to the next town...
18
I hear the sun rose this morning. Thank you President Trump.
20
How do we know Trump’s lying...his lips are moving.
Trump is simply incapable of telling the truth.
42
Wouldn't it be great if Germany told us to remove all our troops and bases from their soil to better align our spending with theirs? One less pit stop for our imperial warmongering.
17
generally the US congress authorizes bases, deployment etc because it oversees the need for US security. Many foreign governments do not want us which sometimes impedes our own security and for which our military.leaders plead for improved relations. Like it or not we live with allies and need more allies. We could always pretend these times are a tv show from the '50's and bluster brings results, or know juvinile challenges surprise but do not cause one to make commiments which last in times of difficulty.
2
Sadly, Germany does not have that authority over it's own borders.
WWVD? What Would Vlady Do? The easiest, quickest way to understand Trump's actions is to just think of what Putin wants him to do. Destabilize Western alliances like the G-7, G-20, and NATO that work to keep Russian aggression in check? BINGO.
Give up in Syria after 6 years and untold loss of lives to turn that country back over to Assad as a protectorate of Russia? BINGO.
Allow the Saudis and UAE to start a war with tiny Qatar, the location of our critical 5th Naval Fleet? BINGO.
Start a crazy, destructive trade war against our ALLIES like Canada to destabilize the economies of Western countries including our own and strengthen the Russian economy? BINGO.
It all makes sense when you remember the Steele Dossier (proven truer every day) and look at Trump as a captive, witting Russian asset like James Clapper, former DNI chief and director of all 15 US intelligence agencies, has publicly stated.
We have met the enemy and he is ORANGE.
83
Today I read just a few pages in John McCain's "Faith of My Fathers" describing his treatment during his time as a prisoner. (A few pages at a time are all one can stomach.) To think that the pompous buffoon pictured on this page had the nerve to disparage Sen.McCain , or anyone else who comes into his toxic orbit, is even harder to stomach.
38
All this just to get a thunderous response from his base at his rally’s, I know our allies are catching on. Now we start again in Russia, same baloney.
8
Trump is a liar. Everything he says is a lie. He should not be listened to or for that matter obeyed. He is unworthy of the office in which he sits.
Anyone voting Republican in this midterm election will be responsible for the further demise of the United States because they will give Trump justification for his continued destructive actions.
He needs to be checked by a Congress that is up to doing their job.
36
It's probably time to factor in to the NATO equation all that has been spent taking in refugees from all the non-Us members. The US is steadfast in not accepting Syrian refugees, but expects NATO members to contribute to defense (read military). Defense is both peacetime efforts and military efforts. Germany, in particular, has been generous to displaced people and that is a staggering contribution. Dropping bombs on Iraq (whoops Syria) is easier than dealing with the aftermath.
21
Please stop repeating Trump's lie that NATO allies are derelict in meeting their 2024 military budget target. Trump's goal is to sell US arms to our allies - and because it's projected (by the CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) that 2.6 million jobs will be lost because of Trump's ill-conceived tariff wars - it's now even more urgent for Trump.
This is a direct follow up from his announcement in April:
"WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The Trump administration rolled out a long-awaited overhaul of US arms export policy on Thursday (April 19) aimed at expanding sales to allies, saying it will bolster the American defence industry and create jobs at home.
The White House aims to cut the time it takes to approve arms deals, lowering the hurdle to bigger sales and sales of more powerful weapons, and increasing the role of senior US officials in shepherding deals across the finish line, as earlier reported by Reuters.
The initiative builds on President Donald Trump's efforts to personally boost arms sales on calls with foreign heads of state.
Companies that stand to benefit from the new policy most include Boeing and the other top US defence contractors, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman.
The plans have been in the works for a year, with White House trade adviser Peter Navarro playing a major role in driving the project forward."
Since the carrots didn't work, Trump is using the stick - threatening to pull out of NATO if his bullying sales tactics fail.
17
I bet you are right.
Well said!
4
Trump is the most clear and present danger to global security we've seen since the middle of the 20th century.
31
It may not be true if Trump says it, but it is reported everywhere that the President of the United States said it, as if it were true. Some people believe it, because they want to believe it. It's really lying to lot of people who are in a state of cognative dissonance. It's like a smoker who rationalizes continuing to smoke because bad things won't happen to him/her. It's a specious argument that benefits an emotional need to believe. Trump, is aided by all media, because he has automatic credibility being President, but Fox really is the culprit here. Fox, is the separate authority encouraging cognative dissonance. They are like a tobacco company reporting false medical news that smoking is good for your health.
5
Since. 9/11/01 a mere 0.75 % of Americans have volunteered to wear the military uniform of any American armed force. No member of the House of Trump has been among them.
The only time that Article 5 of the NATO Treaty Charter defining an attack on any NATO member as an attack on all requiring a collective response was ever invoked was for 9/11/01. British, Canadians, French and German lives have been lost and wounded on our behalf. Even Iran and Russia stood aside and helped us fight against our common enemy.
America annually spends as much on it's military as the next eight nations combined. Including 9x Russia and 3x China. Quality not quantity is what we need in arms against evolving asymmetric foes.
6
Europeans and Germany in particular will not be beaten into submission, I am not sure how any rational thinking adults would expect that. To the contrary, the more Trump beats up NATO partners or EU leaders, the more they will have to resist in order to look strong domestically. So, the result will be that there will be mild disagreement publicly, Europeans aren't going to get into an open arguments with Trump, but they will deal with him just like many dysfunctional families deal with crazy uncle Donald for Thanksgiving... put him in a corner and hope he will leave soon. Europeans will sit this presidency out, hoping for the next president to be more rational.
3
He’s right about the Crimea. I thought it might be therapeutic if I admitted it and said it out loud to someone. It’s not. If he comes away from Helsinki with bogus bombastic claims of how he strong-armed Putin into concessions then we know there was at least no collusion on Trump’s part; he’s just insane. We know with certainty that Russia (con)trolled our whole election. If Trump comes away saying Putin’s a nice guy and he believes Putin then we know America and Europe are subject to Russia. The devil deal.
Trump writes and broadcasts his own news. Call it Bully News. We will have to wait until he is out of office -- then the truth will be left standing. Let's hope we are still standing...
8
Congratulations President Trump, nice victory over our allies! Just like Reagan had a nice victory over our allies in the Cold War. Oh wait I forgot, Reagan actually had a victory over our enemies. I take back my congratulations.
1
The 2% arose from the Russian contretemps in Crimea in 2014 and is supposed to ripen in 2024, however the concept of activity and actions are part of that number, it is not only coin of the realm. It was meant as an intent to warn Russia more so than a cashiers cheque. NATO made a huge contribution of blood and treasure in Afghanistan, a theatre of operations well outside the concept of Russian westward containment, the cornerstone of NATO. Trump does not mention Afghanistan at all.It should be noted the Brits got no NATO help in the Falklands.
1
@John: NATO itself says that Canada spent 1.29% of its GDP on defense in 2017, even though your source puts the number at 1% for the same statistic.
https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2018_03/20180315_...
Your link also states that Canada expects to ramp up defense spending to 1.74% by 2027-8, which though late and still short, is quite a bit less short than $10Bn/yr (i.e., "The GoC's Canada First Defence Strategy will bring the annual defense budget to $30 billion by 2027-2028.")
One big problem here: Other sources give yet other numeric values. With so much at stake, different parties are likely to use varying accounting methods to determine GDP, government defense spending, etc.
You wrote, "Canada and others need to meet their commitments, because NATO allies are counting on them." What specifically are they counting on? Wouldn't Allied military leaders count more on Canadian troop readiness, logistical capabilities, willingness to commit to NATO missions, etc., than on %GDP spent on defense. There may be some correlation between %GDP spent and readiness but there's no mathematical equation that 1 more dollar spent on defense equals 1 more dollar of readiness.
Given that Canada is making a good faith effort to increase their spending, what good ultimately comes from dunning them to meet the arbitrary target? And what good will it benefit the alliance or the US, if Canada or any other country drops out?
7
Having served in the military, let me give President Trump some obvious advice: we are in a much better military position with troops and assets already in place close to trouble spots.
The notion that we could “go it alone” is foolhardy at best. Logistically, we would be in a weak position if we gave up those forward positions. Financially, it would cost us enormous sums of money to redeploy. Politically, it puts us behind the eight ball, because we will lose the support of our current allies.
Trump needs to learn some history - there is a reason that we haven’t had another world war since 1945. NATO, along with other alliances, is a big reason why.
49
President Trump will not learn a thing. He is not interested or capable.
The man is a complete idiot. Which makes him that much more dangerous. He would have sided with Hitler, make no mistake. America was built on an alliance with democratic Europe, but Trump has no interest in democracy, alliances, or Europe. Where are the Republicans who understand what he is doing and why don't they speak??
132
They don't speak because the devil replaced their souls with evil spirits in service to chaos,disorder, and greed.
4
The GOP are busy (like Putin) watching the useful idiot complete their partisan plan to divide Americans for their rich donors. They smell the blood of turning back the advances we've made under Obama...destroying healthcare, widening inequality and sowing discord while enriching themselves at the country's expense.
4
Well, Mr Trump clearly understands the meanings of "toadies" and "sycophants."
When will he learn the meaning of "allies"?
12
Why doesn't this headline reflect Macron's or Conte's rejection of Trump's version of events? You don't need to give Trump free press for his narcissistic interpretations of world events that over-inflate his role. You gave him enough free press in the election.
117
Every day my decision to not pay for this kind of eggshell walking is freshly justified. I prefer a paper with a little gumption.
Get rid of Trump and NATO . Europe is more likely to attack Russia then the other way around . The biggest problem in the world are the USA and Trump
2
This view sounds like a typical EU technocrat drunk on power. Eu attack Russia? You must be dreaming. Russia already annexing parts of Ukraine (that’s in line for a EU membership) and without NATO Baltics would be next. That of course wouldn’t bother germans too much, would it?
3
As with all things Trumpian, all nuance is lost amidst the politics of resentment, the chest pounding, the puerile tweeting and the made for television reality show.
The United States long ago decided to invest huge sums in its military; for 2018, that investment will exceed $700 billion. Under Trump, Congress substantially increased military spending, while slashing federal taxation of wealthy individuals and corporations to the tune of about $1.5 trillion. Deficit spending has ballooned.
How much of the $600 billion to $700 billion per annum we spend on the military is attributable to NATO commitments? According to figure 3, at this link:
https://www.iiss.org/blogs/military-balance/2018/07/us-and-nato-allies-c...
We're looking at about $30 billion for all of 2017, out of over $600 billion in 2017 military spending.
The U.S. has chosen to build an enormous military industrial complex, rather than use its considerable resources to fund infrastructure, health and child care, housing, education and other social services. We also squandered trillions in ill-fated military adventures in the Middle East, over strong objections from our European allies.
Our NATO allies did not force our hand.
Those same allies now reap the harvest of refugees fleeing the chaos we created, while Trump fans the flames of xenophobic, anti-immigration sentiment here and abroad. We blew stuff up, and now we leave others with the mess.
Don't blame NATO for our own stupidity.
38
not stupidity but greed--and the thought that you blow something up then that is good for their are contracts for re-building. you consume more than any other country--then good, use that leverage in negotiations. best: do this all under the banner of being the greatest country in the world. we are and we are not--the nots run the show and the ares increase their service to the poor and encouraging a more tolerant and heartfelt reality based view which is called diversity and deep seated injustices. the nots call us libertards and snowflakes and accuse us of being soft perhaps challenging our love of country. trump is not draining the swamp or changing the discourse.
The real estate salesman just cannot stop making exaggerated claims.
25
We must find a new leader - one who is educated, literate, sensitive, intellectual, creative.....and then support this person and vote them into office as soon as possible.
Who will this person be? At this time, I suppose it would be a democrat but would support a leader who possessed honesty and a historical perspective far beyond what web see now.
It should be very clear to all what our lack of attention to public education has done to the masses.
So who will this leader be?
2
We had an opportunity to elect such a leader, in Mrs. Clinton, but Putin had other plans!
What we need is for everyone to vote!
2
I listened to that press conference and virtually *everything* he said was untrue. It was pretty amazing, even for Trump.
24
Trump says that the U.S. is going into the Russian summit not looking for much of anything. What's he missing? Let's start with a punch in the nose over meddling in u.s. elections. Then a punch to the gut over supporting Assad in Syria. Add the crime of poisoning people in Britain. If he wants to pick international fights, there's a good list.
3
trump just doesn't seem to understand that as soon as he opens his mouth or tweets, the fact checkers are on the job, and it doesn't take them long to discredit what he just said. One can only assume that he is only speaking so he can hear his on voice and to those who come to his ego rallies. Cohen has decided it seems, not to go down with the trump "titanic" ship. I keep thinking eventually that more GOP members of both house's will figure that if they continue to support trump, it will do them more harm than good. I applaud our allies for there courage to stand up to trump and not be bullied.
3
Somebody should seriously tell this president that this NATO Conference is a not a TV Reality Show, and no ratings or Door Prizes are involved.
It's more than obvious that Donald Trump is playing for points in trying to appease his base back home, while silencing his critics for looking like the Russophile he really is.
You call this 'winning'?
7
Trump is a one trick pony. The only role he knows is reality TV. He doesn't have the ability to rise any further. Plus, business with the Russians is good.
2
The only people who agree with Trump that the NATO Summit was a big success speak with a Russian accent.
4
And .....80% of Republicans! Ugh!
1
My comment is the same for a long time now: why do the Republicans in the Senate and the House condone Trump? Is the party or are their seats more important than the country? Politics is not only about getting elected, but also about important, dangerous issues such as foreign affairs, climate change, morality (and I am not talking about the double sexual standard, but about systematic lying). If a taxi driver or airplane pilot is under the influence, he is removed. Why do Republicans not stand up against Sean Hannity? Is he another Mccarthy? And for me the most important question: why do they not care about looking incompetent, redundant, and totally ridiculous?
6
Answer: Republicans sold their souls to Putin's puppet! They won't act against him while 80% of Republicans support this disaster!
The heads of some NATO nations may resent Trump’s prodding, but NATO agrees with President Trump that NATO nations aren’t paying their fair share of NATO funding. According to the NATO official website, “Today, the volume of the US defense expenditure effectively represents some 67 per cent of the defense spending of the Alliance as a whole in real terms. This does not mean that the United States covers 67 per cent of the costs involved in the operational running of NATO as an organization, including its headquarters in Brussels and its subordinate military commands, but it does mean that there is an over-reliance by the Alliance as a whole on the United States for the provision of essential capabilities, including for instance, in regard to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; air-to-air refueling; ballistic missile defense; and airborne electronic warfare.”
At present, only four of the 29 NATO nations are meeting the NATO contribution guidelines. NATO would be stronger if all 29 nations paid their fair share.
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_67655.htm
2
The agreement reached at the NATO conference in Wales in 2014 targeted 2024 for NATO nations to meet the 2% threshold. Trump "renegotiated" nothing. NATO nations understand this. They simply agreed to meet the standards set back in 2014. So that means they have 6 more years to reach that 2% goal.
7
He needs a victory over NATO? I thought these nations were our allies. I'd hate to be his enemy.
7
Maybe Trump realized, with that last comment "that's why we have NATO", that the United States is also counting on support by our allies should the US come under attack?
We're alarmed, and history informs us what's coming.
A dictatorship was built inch by inch in Germany.
And this and that and then that were accepted and tolerated.
Sewing of division/confusion is routine for Donald Trump.
Close allies--- demeaned, insulted and extorted from.
An autocratic president who may well have been installed and inaugurated with Russia's assistance...and is permitted to remain by a seemingly complicit GOP.
Today's Oversight and Government Reform + Judiciary Committee hearing confirms to me that Republicans are protecting Donald Trump. And know Russia ensured his win.
8
In soccer, scoring against your team- mates (and, therefore, on behalf of your opponents) is called an "own goal.". Zero for NATO and one for Team Putin. Somehow, Trump supporters still think that whoever gets the most own goals wins.
5
The general impression cultivated so carefully is that Americans are crude and vulgar, Europeans are suave and sophisticated, and everybody should know that. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Trump gave them exactly what they asked for and deserve.
2
So nothing changed, right? When have Europeans considered Americans "cultured"?
Why does the US need a victory over its allies? They are ALLIES!
17
I'm sure NATO would love to increase their spending but unfortunately they are under audit and can't respond. Sound familiar?
7
The fact that Trump’s going after our allies in a bullying and rude manner is very disturbing. It’s clear that most likely something awful for the US will come out of the upcoming Putin meeting. At the very least the people of the US need to vote!
1
This is how Trump works. He has his blustering video of the breakfast where he demands more from NATO and insults Germany (as if Merkel would EVER let Russia control Germany again!). After the NATO meeting, he boasted to his base that he demanded and got more from NATO (probably not true). He has what he needs to whip up his base prior to next election cycle. He talked tough to NATO (on tape) and pronounced his win (via media coverage). That's all he needs. He'll meet one-on-one with Putin with no one (AKA witnesses) present. Doesn't really matter what he does/doesn't say to Putin. Without witnesses, it'll all be what he declares it to be for his base. And, I'm sure he'll take credit for some monumental breakthrough the Russia so again, media will report so he can use it on his base, when the time comes. He's the ultimate con man.
6
Here is a man who promised to end foreign adventures like Iraq and Afghanistan, yet he is taking money away from fixing our own infrastructure to arm us to the teeth (ready to defend the next dictator)--while insisting our allies waste their own money to ramp up for another war.
I guess it's just part of his displaying power by bossing everyone else around and forcing them to do things he hasn't thought through himself.
Six bankruptcies, and he well on his way to achieving his seventh, at the expense of humanity.
11
Create chaos then claim victory....that is all he does...he brings NOTHING to the table but discord...vote blue in November
7
Victory over our allies?! What is this, a god damned war with the people my father and your fathers fought to assure them to live in freedom?
We have terribly sick, sick president. I have never been more ashamed in my 67 years for our country than I am now.
15
I don't believe that Mr. Trump ever expected to achieve anything of significance at this meeting. The cameras were rolling and, although he appeared to be talking tough to other NATO leaders, he was really, once again, simply talking to his base.
4
The truth doesn't matter to Trump. All of this belly-bumping macho display is intended to impress his base, who seems to not care about truth. I think this display is intended to show Trump as manly and able to stand up to those who rely on facts and scholarship. Unfortunately, his base seems to believe that these tantrums have no measurable effects on them. Now that Trump is set to pick his own judge in the upcoming US vs Trump lawsuit we will be stuck with this lunatic until the voters throw out this clown car of a Senate and House. And if the Senate had any brains it would impeach Gorsuch and whoever is ratified as Kennedy's successor.
5
President Destruction doesn't understand or doesn't care that our nation's longstanding role in NATO has been based on mutual security advantages shared by our own all member nations. That role means nothing to Trump -- in fact it's a negative -- considering that his higher allegiance is to Vladimir Putin and his dictatorship over Russia (where Trump intends to build another fabulous, opulent hotel). That Russia, the nation against which NATO's defenses provide protection.
2
Did President Trump get anything more from allies than the previous 2% commitment? Nope.
But he did get an important win.
The problem isn’t that Germany, Canada, and other allies wouldn’t make a 2% commitment. It was that they had no intention of actually meeting that commitment. For example, Germany had already developed its long range budget that explicitly missed the 2% target by $20 billion per year (or more) by 2025. Canada has done something similar.
President Trump is getting higher pressure and higher visibility on the commitments that our allies have made. If we keep up the pressure, they might just actually do what they promised.
Of course, our allies are desperately hoping that Trump doesn’t get reelected, so that they can renege on their commitment with a new president who they will satisfy with many words of honor and respect…but no actually military spending.
5
We should show them all by slashing our defense spending to below 2% in retaliation if they won't step up!
That analysis is just completely desperate. It cites as proof the unprovable. think the Trumpists will need to do better than that.
1
They have kept their commitments. They agreed to the 2% by 2024. drumpf is just grandstanding for his base, which either doesn't know, or will ignore, the facts. Basically, he made a big show of bullying our greatest allies for doing exactly what they agreed to do. Brilliant! I'm sure you're right about NATO members not wanting to see the "stable genius" reelected, but I think your assessment of their motives is far too narrow. Wanting him out of office hardly makes them unique.
5
So, let's get this straight.
If American allies make a commitment to meet our NATO obligations, the US says we need to make a commitment to dedicate 2% of our GDP to our military.
If we make a commitment to dedicate 2% of our GDP to our military by 2024, Trump says we need to dedicate 2% of our GDP right now.
If we actually dedicate 2% of our GDP to our military right now, Trump says we need to dedicate 4% instead.
No matter what we do, Trump will just keep pushing the goalposts further and further. He doesn't want NATO to actually succeed. He doesn't care what NATO allies do or don't do.
Trump just wants NATO allies to not be American allies.
Because an America without allies has an excuse to find new friends.
So far Russia and North Korea haven't shown the same respect for American military lives as NATO and NORAD has. But to be fair, Trump hasn't shown the same respect for American military lives that NATO has, either.
84
That's correct all the way around.
You might add that "he doesn't care what NATO allies do or don't do" will apply when President Trump is asked to come to the defense of a NATO ally under attack. Whether you agree to two or four or eight percent, nobody is secure in Trump's willingness to honor the treaty obligations.
So really, the reason to spend more on defense isn't to please Trump, it's to defend against attack when Trump disgraces the United States permanently and unequivocally by breaching the treaty and bringing Putin his greatest payoff.
4
C:
Your point is well taken, but incorrect.
The simple fact is that Canada has explicitly said that it won't meet the 2% target even by 2024. In fact, they only expect to hit 1.4%, which would be about a $10 billion per year shortfall.
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/canada/budget.htm
No one is saying that Canada isn't doing anything. They just aren't planning to meet the commitment that they freely made.
Canada and others need to meet their commitments, because NATO allies are counting on them.
4
Trump hasn't moved a goalpost. 2% is in the first NATO treaty. The problem is that our European "partners" have been consistently freeloading. Let's bring a hundred thousand soldiers home. Yes, 100,000 American soldiers. Not sailors, not airmen, soldiers. Let the Germans raise their own army.
2
So the republicans have no qualms spending 1.1 $trillion on an unnecessary war in Iraq, but now they find the US is spending far too much on NATO when compared to the other members? And maybe, the US will pull out!
I wish the allies would call #45 on his bluff. What is he US going to do when China or/and Russia move in closer and closer to the east coast and the west coast? Russia has already started with Ukraine; China with Africa.
NATO was "made in USA" to help Europe, but it was really a clever way to establish a buffer zone- for US- against USSR. Same thing for all those bases around the world. The US likes to complain that it's tired of playing global policeman. The reality is the US relish the idea of being the most powerful country on earth, and knows it would be a terrible mistake to abandon the bases. The roaches would be moving in within days...
21
Trump has no credibility. Unfortunately, now America hasn’t either.
7
Germany, by far the richest European country in NATO is ill prepared to field an effective military response to an aggressive external threat. The following articles: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/09/30/germany-unable-to-meet-na... or http://www.businessinsider.com/german-military-fighters-jets-not-ready-f..., detail some of the issues. Seems that the President is correct in his criticism.
1
But look at the bright side - at least Trump has not called any of the European leaders he met with "very dishonest" or "weak." Maybe he's starting to get the hang of it. Not.
3
So childlike. This is exactly why he did this, and the North Korea thing, and most of his stunts, policies, and whatnot. He fabricates victories to boast to his consituents, and says, "we're doing so much winning." It's a shame that the game plan is to appeal to an uninformed electorate. Isn't the purpose of governing something a little more than conning your voters into voting for you?
5
Make problem
Fix problem (sort of)
Claim victory
Distract American voters from crimes committed by Trump administration
Rinse, repeat
20
The way this man talks: raising defense budgets "like they never have before," NATO is "the greatest thing ever done," saying he deserves "total credit," and then lying about everyone approving of him—we clearly are dealing here with some kind of megalomaniac or egocetric mental problem, or, at the least, someone who has no sense of proportion who feels
compelled to turn every moment, whether based in reality or made up, as an unparalleled milestone in human history.
16
So our President emerges from his meeting loudly bragging about how he bullied the world leaders at the meeting to agree to his demands. Except then they emerge and say, “Hey, we never agreed to that!” So the value of this “agreement” is zero, other than that President Trump can falsely claim he did something the next time he stirs up his fawning minions at the county fair grounds. And our allies who were beginning to think our country was out-of-control and couldn’ be relied on now have those beliefs confirmed. And this critical NATO meeting was sabotaged by our own President.
And even presuming we’re wise enough to get rid of this guy in 2020, we still have to survive two and a half years of this stuff. Could this get more depressing?
8
Trump didn't claim anything. He LIED about what happened as per all the other attendees at the meeting.
The media continues to feed the drama that Trump needs. He was a pushy and ignorant man who could not answer basic questions who was "dealt with" as politely as possible. The only reason no one spoke up to his face is that he is POTUS - a position he demeans every day with lazy preparation and bully threats. His lack of knowledge and his refusal to learn about issues embarrasses the US on the world stage.
Any respect shown to Trump is because he holds office, not because he is worthy of that office or as a man of character and intellect.
98
Mr. Trump threatens a crisis, makes demands, claims that NATO is much stronger than it was two days when he arrived, and then does a victory lap, saying he has increased Europe's financial commitment. He did of course blame various things on President Obama. And in the wake of all this, NATO members say their commitments are the same as they were before the meeting. It's enough to make heads spin.
7
I recall the riots that broke out when both Cameron and Thatcher were Prime Ministers. The populace was on edge. I suspect that holds true today, given the raw feelings which brexit is generating
Unless trump is looking to have his limousine surrounded by angry protesters, he would be well advised to keep a lower profile than usual (if that's even possible) while in England.
Nah. Who am I kidding.
8
Trump demands other NATO members to increase defense spendings at the same time telling the world that Russia is not an enemy. He totally forgot why this military alliance was organized, and from which enemy the NATO is defending. If I were a NATO member country, I would ask why I have to increase the defense spending when the U.S. says, “Russia is not an enemy, the U.S. will work out better with Russia from now on.” The NATO members see Trump’s contradictive argument and feel the danger from changing U.S. This is the only reason why they are interested in the increase of defense spendings. It is a laughable caricature when Trump boasts his success from the NATO meeting.
6
Once again, follow the money. Who of Trump's cronies in the military industrial complex stand to gain if NATO members spend more? (Hint: Some may even be oligarchs in Russia.)
9
What is a "victory" over allies? Isn't a "victory" usually over an adversary, not your own teammates? Apparently, his plan is to now meet the adversary ... I would say, surly not to congratulate him on their COMBINED victory over NATO ... but when it comes to Trump and Putin, it's likely exactly what he's going to do!
10
urk, surely not ...
Why was there so little Press Coverage of the Presidents of France and Italy's statements contradicting Trump's claims? Joe Scarborough mentioned on his program that Macron had taken the microphone and was disputing Trump's claims but they never cut away to it and I never saw anything on TV today either.
25
Truly, this must be "1984" writ large.
In one corner, we have leader A who has been consistently pushing for increases in NATO countries defense spending.
In another corner we have Leader B, who has been consistently deferring any investment in country's military, to the point where it's own MoD reports that most of it's fighting strength is unusable due to lack of spare parts. Even when presented with such report, the government insists that increased spending is not necessary. Selfsame government has been pushing for increased gas purchases from Russia which would deposit billions of dollars in Putin's pocket, while at the same time depriving Ukraine (which is fighting Russian aggression) from much needed revenue.
So who is it that's undermining NATO, exactly? Donald Trump - who wants it to become more militarily powerful and relevant? Or Angela Merkel, who certainly talks up NATO while doing everything possible to keep German military incapable of responding to any real crisis?
3
Once againTrump makes much ado about nothing. Every time he walks into a room he behaves insanely, as if he was at one of his rallies. He is so self-absorbed that he cannot distinguish between responsible world leaders hoping to maintain the world order and the loons and goons that show for his deranged rant-fests. Then when our allied leaders ease him out the door with a sigh of relief that he just came to make noise (thankfully nothing more) he calls in the press to claim his brilliance and that he has once again done the impossible and saved the world. The sane leaders feel they've dodged another bullet. This time after time behavior would be terribly tiring and aggravating in a middle school classroom, it is no way to run the world. Maybe judge Kavanaugh could write a paper on how world leaders are too busy to be forced to put up with Donald Trump - that one would make sense.
4
Wow! Chalk up another win for the Trumpster!!!
If this is winning I'd much rather be on the losing team.
32
Most real diplomacy occurs behind closed doors, where leaders can discuss their differences and negotiate some resolution, or agree to disagree. In public, diplomats almost never discuss specifics or announce anything that surprises the other participants.
Trump's disparaging attacks and surprise demands are, at the very least, unproductive and damaging to our international relationships. These performances are apparently made publicly for his debased base . . . and Vladimir Putin.
7
Just this one day alone is an example of the great power we each hold in having a vote in a democracy. Please, to every eligible voter, think carefully now and until November about that fact. Trump held a press conference to tell lies that were immediately proved to be lies. Peter Strzok has been subjected to long hours of a ridiculously run hearing. The "performance" of the Republican house members today should be required viewing for all Americans, along with Mr. Strzok's calm, logically answers based on facts and legal standards. If you don't have hours to watch, just concentrate on Goodlatte and Goudy. If you'd like to see respectful, appropriate questions, watch Mr. Cummings. Actually part of the time you can only hear him, as Virginia Foxx blocks him from view. Trump published a short, meaningless letter he got from Kim. He probably thinks it is a wonderful letter because "Your Excellency" appeared before his name over and over again. Today on Capital Hill and on the international stage we have shown the world we are quickly headed towards giving up on Democracy for a dictatorship. All the deceased veterans who fought in our wars since World War I must be spinning in their graves, my Dad and Grandfather included.
10
The president of this United States is totally out of control.
There really is not much more to say that makes sense.
12
I will believe there has been a "victory" as soon as I see the canceled checks.
2
Let's not forget he claimed and believes he won the popular vote and won by a landslide. Trump believes lost of things. He believes a lot of Britons love him.
7
Consider me surprised, Mr. Trump. Our P.M. Justin Trudeau isn't changing his plan to gradually increase defense spending over 10 years, not overnight as you have demanded. I fear that your negotiating style (bullying) is not winning you any friends beyond Mr. Putin. Why you go to these meetings if only to sow discord is beyond me. "The Art of the Deal" is no art at all, it seems, just a lot of hot air as you describe your actions in glowing terms that do not match reality.
19
This is now a familiar pattern.Trump lies and/or distorts facts and figures to manufacture an apparent crisis then claims credit/lies and/or distorts facts and figures to claim victory.
30
On this one I agree with Trump...but, unlike apparently a lot of NYT "liberals" I'm not a huge fan of excessive defense spending.
Cut US commitments to 1.5% starting tomorrow until 2024, when we raise it to 2% assuming the other NATO nations come through. Use that money domestically for infrastructure improvements or to begin expanding Medicare to 55 and older. We can raise our contributions on an individual country basis to support our bases in Germany and elsewhere if needed. But in no way should we be giving 2-3 x what the other wealthy northern European nations are giving at the expense of our domestic well-being. Otherwise we allow them to have good domestic programming while we're left with bad roads and no health insurance.
And for those of you who want to further bloat our already absurd military budget by picking up European nations' tabs, perhaps you should reexamine which party to REALLY belong to underneath your rants.
7
this man is proudly saying he wants to spend even more on defense. he has no coherent strategy on anything
2
Who is calling for further bloating our military budget?
1
You do realize that Trump doesn't want to reduce US military spending, right? That's not what this is about.
1
I just can't get the theme from "The Twilight Zone" out of my head, it's been there since Nov 2016.
8
Claiming credit is where Donald Trump really does come into his own. He is an amazing master even when he deserves none - like now. He made a lot of people mad and didn't get anything thrown at him. It's as much as can be expected. Other countries tolerate him better than should be expected. They like Americans more than the President.
27
I'm sorry but your president is a total liar.
A quote from the London Times: 'Asked how he felt about the tens of thousands of protesters awaiting him in Britain, he insisted: “I think they like me a lot in the UK. I think they agree with me on immigration.”
We really don't like you, Trump, a lot. And we don't agree with you on immigration: we don't cage children. We feel sorry for our American friends.
3
That's for sure: love Americans, Trump no.
We Brits are being told by Trump that we 'love him'. Fake news! We really do not love him.
1
Very interesting, now, for those of us whose first language is English, what exactly did Trump say that was true?
9
Trump acts like he does not know that the military-industrial complex is the real Deep State (not the liberal elites). His huge defense budget jump and what he wants the EU to do are exactly what the deep state wants.
Forget about Russia, Trump is controlled by the deep state - he's on their payroll.
5
I feel sure Trump is intentionally driving a wedge between the U.S. & NATO to curry favor with Putin.
A larger question: why Trump's rudeness & hostility at the NATO summit? Because of a character flaw, Trump has a compulsion to fight with people. He doesn't know how to function unless he has an opponent he "battle"no matter how ridiculous, pointless or destructive his behavior is. Trump's long running feuds with hundreds in NYC real estate, Rosie O'Donnell, Obama, the Clintons, Robert Mueller, "Pocahontas,"& more he's currently 'feuding' with - like a World Wrestling Federation villain constantly throwing shade - are evidence of Trump's inability to perceive people as allies, friends, or neutral parties . People are either on Trump's side - Ivanka, staffers John Bolton/George Pompeo/ Wilbur Ross, buddies Sean Hannity/Jeanine Pirro and chief advisor & mentor Vladimir Putin - or the exist for Trump to smear, threaten, revile.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday: "Donald Trump is destroying the reputation of the United States of America."
He may not even be trying. Trump's an angry madman looking for a fight, looking to blow off steam, 24 hours a day. Trump fights like other people breathe. It's a serious character flaw that Trump's inner demons compel him to constantly create conflict, threaten people & break things - regardless of their value. It's his reason for being.
This character flaw makes Trump monumentally unfit to be president.
13
Trump declares victory over our allies and rolls over for our enemies.
What could possibly go wrong?
6
Sounds like Trump repeated his North Korea "We are Safe" no substance con by showing up blowing hot meaningless wind and then claiming success for the NATO members simply agreeing to continue increasing their defense budgets as previously agreed from dealings with Obama. No new deals. No new actual commitments and just a lot of "You're great Donald" statements, while they all snickered behind the back of the President with no clothes and with no clue. Despite all of the bluster and tweets, Trump has almost become an irrelevancy in that all you have to do is blow in his ear a few times and he's becomes completely distracted and very very happy. What President ever measures success on how "happy" he is? How strange is this guy anyways?
5
The Allies agreed to the same thing they did four years ago.
3
I'm for NATO until I'm not for NATO until I am again.
Since Trump avoided the military with a relapsing bone spur, I'm guessing the closest he has ever come to combat is New York City traffic and the occasional pot hole while in his limo.
It scares me that this man is in charge with so little experience in life besides the Art of the Steal.
6
The braggadocio of Trump is just mind-boggling. Delusions of grandeur like I have never seen in my life.
6
Speaking of Trump supporters, it reminds me of the movie The Body Snatchers. When I first came to Texas I was informed that many Texas residents were skeptical of Yankees, which is true. I believe it's much the same for most of the Southern and Western States. How is it that the most obvious, corrupt, Yankee conman alive could come in and fool so many people who were always vigilant against us. I just can’t wrap my head around it. I think right about now many of them are having second thoughts about their hero, but they have too much pride vested in him and allegiance to their peers to accept the truth. The worse part of all this is that most of these people are in Trump’s crosshairs.
7
Welcome to Diplomacy 101. You can work with, play with, compete with, connect with, convince, cajole or corral friends. The one thing you should never do with a friend, is declare victory over them.
6
President Trump declares victory over our allies and rolls over for our enemies.
What could possibly go wrong?
59
c'mon...headline is misleading. should read Trump claim he won allied concessions denied by allies. (or, trump lies again about a crisis of his own making.)
4
Where is the Republican Senate? The rest of our so-called national leaders, the elites, the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the ones with all the true power - WHERE ARE YOU??????
4
I hope you are right, because so far, it seems to me at least that Germany and the UK are" bowing down to the maker." As someone with "a lot" of German blood, I am surprised that Merkel is so subservient. May is following suite. Are these women afraid of him? I am going to get a lot of flack for saying this, but do we need only "very strong, secure men" to stand up to him? Macon seems to have those qualities, doesn't he? Also, the Italian President.
Patton, Bradley, MacArthur, Eisenhower et al would be so proud of Little Donnie's great victory over this evil enemy. What? Oh, sorry, I was convinced he was talking about an adversary. Never mind.
3
I've held several jobs where the boss was probably certifiably psychotic or at least schizophrenic, not to mention being a pathological liar. Typically, I said nothing when riled, in order to keep receiving my paltry paycheck.
We are watching this scenario time and again with Trump.
Leaders need to man-up, and go beyond my historical submission and weakness.
3
Maybe Trump is not playing to his base or a reality tv audience. Maybe he just performing on a stage in his own mind. The performance is all about inflating or tickling his ego. The rest of humanity are voyeurs. All we can say is, in his mind, what he is doing makes him feel like a big man. ("I sure showed them who's boss.")
5
Hard to imagine he's only gone bankrupt FOUR times.....
7
Trump's modus operandi -
Do something... anything... make a speech. Offer no specifics, just bully, threaten, browbeat, call names.
Then proclaim victory and brag about it. (Whatever he wants "it" to be.)
Then claim fake news when called out.
The man deals only in superlatives.... biggest crowds, smartest moves, most acquiescence from those he deals with. He cannot handle reality, wherein he has peers and people as smart as (or likely smarter than) he is.
4
Regarding Trump at NATO, I doubt that any leader of a major country (even a dictatorship) has ever lied more obviously or casually. He doesn't even bother keeping his lies straight from one day to the next. Of course Trump knows they are lies—how could he not?—so one can only marvel at his utter shamelessness. More and more of our allies must be thinking that any meaningful relationship with the U. S. will have to wait until Trump is gone.
10
President "Power of Positive Thinking -Trump", who grew up with Norman Vincent Peale as his family minister and which explains his frequent and bizarre delusions.
But who does he think he's fooling?
2
I believe you must be referring to the core of his
base who attend the rallies, wear the hat, yell
their fury at every member of the elite who is not helping to
run things for their own benefit. The same ones
who follow the propaganda stations, listen to talk radio,
and so forth and so on.
Have you not tried to talk to any such people of late? To
do so will help answer your question.
I do get that me calling Trump a pathological liar may be unpersuavive to the Trump faithful, and unimportant in the grand scheme. But world leaders now effectively doing the same is quite another thing. It may not be at all pursuasive to the faithful, but an American president's words now being effectively worthless on the world stage is truly frightening. When matters hang in the balance, when thousands of lives are at stake, when trust is absolutely important, what then?
6
Another reason in a long list of reasons I will just laugh if anyone in the future says we need a businessman in charge, that they know how to get things done.
Trump really is a great example of incompetence at the highest level, the type of incompetence that mandates that all around him both enter the room, and leave the room, genuflecting.
It is the Republican Party stalwarts who, greedy to the core, are responsible for this disaster.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
6
Trump's rhetoric is exactly what might get him reelected, because those who still support him live on social security. But then it is not unusual for liars to be elected, just remember Bush Jr.. There has to come into being a much stronger collective urge to purge a compulsive liar from the White House. Otherwise there will be an entire generation growing up believing that you will get away with anything as long as you have money. But the wifes of those on social security voting for Trump are so taken that they name their daughters Melania, as if that would stand for any desirable attribute. This is a massive cultural crisis.
3
Trump's idea of success at the NATO summit: All the headlines were about me!
Trump's major concern for his summit with Putin: Will the headlines say Trump Meets Putin or Putin Meets Trump?
That's why Trump considers Putin a "competitor". Putin could claim some of the headlines.
4
Everything's upside down. We're in for serious anti-America sentiment due to this aggressive president leaning toward Russia and other dictatorships.
Does his worldview match actual assessments from our intelligence agencies, or is this influenced by the two Steves--Miller and Bannon---- white nationalists having Trump's ear.
And Fox News?
What roles his secretary of state and chief of staff actually fill? Both appeared to be cringing as Trump made thuggish immediate demands. And sat silently, as democracy is forever changed by Trump and the GOP.
Going it alone, without allies, is paving the way for a dictatorship. Watching the hearing all day today from Republican House Committee reveals House Republicans are ok with Russian intervention in our elections.
4
Trump is really pretty great, and fun to watch.
Trump takes credit for everything, responsibility for nothing. It is the Sun King's credo.
3
“Making a dramatic exit” from the NATO summit is exactly what the president did at the close of the G-7 summit in Canada where he rudely departed from allied leaders and personally insulted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. At any summit meeting, whether with friend or foe, as in Singapore, the president will make the proceedings all about him. As the North Koreans astutely pointed out about SOS Mike Pompeo, this administration is comprised of gangsters and lowlifes.
As for doing his own thing, he’s done a number on American democracy and a united global front against Russia and her penchant for military aggression. It’s doubtful that any of America’s NATO allies would nominate the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize.
12
Yeah, Trump claims a big NATO victory...for his boss, Vladimir Putin. Can anyone imagine what the Republicans would have done to Obama under the same circumstances? The country is headed for a reckoning that could rival Lincoln's Civil War.
5
What a complete and total embarrassment this man Trump is....sorry world, our bad.
5
All the other reports I've read suggest the president is lying and thay no onr has agreed to anything. The notion that the president is facilitating the spread of Russian power and influence should be shocking. Thank goodness the Europeans see through Trump's bluster and ignorance.
5
I will take Alice's Adventures in Wonderland instead of these random babbles - about NATO contributions, or anything else. Way more credible.
2
I understand that Trump says that Putin "is a competitor" but not "an enemy." This is great news, I guess, because without an enemy Trump can give away the farm and still not commit treason!
3
He lied. Macron put out a communique saying that NATO members did not agree to raise their military spending by any more than the 2% target set for 2024. Another NATO member said that now they are looking at Trump as a kind of doddering old uncle who doesn't really understand what is going on.
Why does he lie? Just to look like a big cheese to his duped followers?
Or does he lie because he simply does not understand anything at all about reality? Either way, there is a mental illness there that needs to be addressed.
8
Other news reports quoted diplomats who said the president used slightly different wording — saying that he would “do my own thing,” — but he was not specific about what he meant in either case.)
What do you mean Mr. President?
Who said that?
Over here. I said that.
What I said is not open for discussion.
You're not going to say what you meant?
That's right. And I meant it the first time I said it.
Europe, and most of the rest of the world, gave up on Trump a long time ago. There’s no credibility to anything he says and he makes a mockery of deals that were made by his predecessors.
It’s time we too start treating him like the bumbling fool that he is and stop paying attention to anything he says. Instead, we should work around him until he’s gone.
3
After bullying, berating, and bludgeoning our erstwhile, but now bloodied, NATO allies, Donald Trump, in true narcissistic fashion, declares not just a "victory," but "a big victory" by a "genius" [him, of course] who deserves "total credit." Of course, it's sick, but that's what narcissists do--beat up or put people down to build themselves up and boast how superior they are. This is just the latest example of the mentally unstable, non-genius we've unleashed on ourselves and the world.
3
Empty wagons always make the most noise!
6
How does this man get away with the constant lying? I can only believe that he's doing so because he knows his base will not question him and that they will "eat this stuff up". Sad that our country is so divided that approximately 1/2 of the voters will not even acknowledge, or take the time to investigate, the man's horrible spouting of lies.
5
would somebody please remember that NATO is of our own making? The US decided to propose the NATO organization for our own strategic purposes. Folks complain about the cost of stationing troops all over the world. We do it for our own defense! It has little to do with defending Europe or any place else. It gives us the opportunity to make sure a ground war is on someone else's ground. It's worked for 70 years.
2
Classic Trump: create turmoil where not existed, tell everyone how he is fixing it even if facts directly contradict his words, claim glorious victory that only he can provide.
Trump loyalists swoon with glee over the greatness of their bestest leader ever. Dems pull out hair in agony over the insanity of it all, but perpetuate the game by 'civilly' playing along. In this case, you can add NATO along with the Dems in the we-have-no-idea-how-to-counter-the-madness camp.
You stop the crazy by refusing to pretend it isn't. I remain baffled why no one just interrupts him mid-lie, stops him cold. Look at the other NATO leaders silently listen to him spew nonsense, utterly dumbfounded, but polite. Dems do the same. He doesn't care about civility, so stop giving it to him. Call him out on every lie, on the spot, and make him correct it. He will continue to lie with impunity, as long as no one makes him stop. Make him stop.
4
More fake news from Trump. His borderline personality was on full display causing him to arrive late for meetings and then disrupting the proceedings. His narcissism was on display at his news conference where he declared himself the hero who brought NATO to its knees.
Toddler Trump has made a fool of himself on the world stage once again.
4
Trump's boorish antics in Brussels accomplished only one positive thing. He got no new spending commitments even though he managed to embarrass our country completely. His antics (which have to be wearing thin, no?) only managed to get republicans and democrats in congress to come together and vote, nearly unanimously, to reaffirm America's commitment to NATO. Probably not the result he intended. Left him looking alone and weak.
4
No victories will be realized or claimed over Putin.
2
It will be news if Trump ever comes away from a meeting of any kind NOT claiming victory. So long as so many Americans are content being taken for fools living in a fool's paradise (peace on the Korean Peninsula anyone?) this nonsense will never end!
3
He'll ride this hot air right into his Putin summit where he will genuflect and tell us what a "swell fellow" Putin is and how he controlled the whole time while throwing this country under the bus one more time.
2
Our National Embarassment.
A shameless attempt to coerce our allies into spending more On defense. So that our MIC continues to fill its coffers and ,undoubtedly, drumpf's pockets?
2
I can't understand the concept as to why his supporters think Trump is good for our country. I try to rationalize that maybe since they voted for Trump that they can't admit that they made an atrocious decision. Or maybe it's just as simple as Republicans will now only vote for Republicans.
Is it a racist backlash after having President Obama serve two terms as our president? After all they are opposite in every way. Obama is/was intelligent, respectful of others and represented our country with dignity. He sought diversity and inclusion, both within our country and with other countries.
On the other hand Trump is a buffoon. He lies, cheats, is pompous and is boastful even when he is embarrassing wrong. He berates other countries and even continents (remember his verbal attacks about Africa). He lacks what most adults have: common sense and an ability to apologize for mistakes.
I see Trump as all that is evil in the world, and an ultimate embarrassment as a president of our country.
4
There's something wrong with Trump.
Every good thing (real or fabricated0 is his doing and his alone. No bad thing (real or fabricated) ever is. Credit, of which there is never enough, is never shared. Blame, always in abundance, is always ascribed to others.
I've known people like this. I had the misfortune to report to one for a few years. It doesn't matter what this condition is called. It only matters that anyone so afflicted is unfit to collaborate with other people. Trump, like my old boss, should be fiddling with widgets in a room by himself, where he can pat himself on the back as much as he wants, beyond everyone else's field of vision. It was unfathomable to me then that someone with this defect was responsible for a small work unit. It's even more unfathomable to me now that this miserable specimen is POTUS.
5
It was an embarrassment to watch Trump this morning. His press conference was an exercise in ignorance, ego, bloviation and outright lies. Often, he rambled rather than respond. When asked about Africa, he talked about how much he wanted “world peace.” I felt as if we were all being transported to a Miss Universe beauty pageant. And, of course, he brought up the 2016 election again, as if he can’t get enough of his electoral win.
It is no longer simply that he is an embarrassment to our country; he is doing real damage, and those around him who do not distance themselves should be held to account. The man is a danger to our country, our constitution, and our democratic values.
I do not understand how anyone can suspend reality to the degree required to support him. He is a lout, a bully who creates disasters, a pathological liar, and an ignoramus to boot. He does not represent American values, and I worry what he will give away to Putin.
November can’t come soon enough. Please vote, and get everyone you know to vote as well.
4
But of course, Trump always takes credit for everything. He is seriously delusional and embarrassment to the United States of America on every level. He destroys everything in his path so why not NATO, too.
A huge apology to all of our allies that our flawed election system produced such an appalling individual. Clearly you are aware from many interactions with our former Presidents from both political parties that he does not represent the majority in this country. He is, truly, an utter disgrace and a bully.
4
The argument that the USA is run by intellectual elites can be laid to rest.
3
Good to see a president sticking up for the U.S. NATO has been scewed for year leaving US with the tab.
Trump only reaffirmed his support for NATO after an aide told him the letters now stand for "New Associates of Trump Organizations"...
4
Trump should have gone on to tell reporters:
"Yes, I took dirty Russian money, I needed it because I was broke. Putin helped me through his cronies, oligarchs and mafiosi. It was laundered through Deutsche Bank's loans. I got a cool billion that way. Judge Kennedy's boy in D-Bank was really good to me when he was in charge of Capital Markets, real estate. Of course, Putin made him friendly to me. And so Putin helped me also get to the White House. All I can do is say, well, why not? I had taken his money. And he also has tapes on me, you know, doing private stuff. So he may squeeze me again where it hurts. What am I going to do? Of course, I'll do what he says. Wouldn't you?
"And the Republicans in Congress took money too, from Russian oligarchs. That's why they visited Moscow now. We're getting ready for the mid-term elections. What are we going to do, refuse money when it's offered to us? Would you?"
22
It is a good thing we have an honest French President to tell us the truth, as our U.S. president can't seem to manage that.
6
so factcheck.org (https://www.factcheck.org/2018/07/trump-still-distorting-nato-spending/) offers very different numbers than this NYT article: factcheck.org - The ENTIRE NATO yearly budget is about $2.6 billion/yr, with the US contribution at about $600 million/yr. For comparison, we spend ~$600 BILLION on our OWN defense spending. What $$ are the correct? factcheck or NYT. This is actually pretty important....
2
It's really tough having a President that is a pathological liar. You cannot believe anything that comes out of Trump's mouth and most of administration as well. We a re really in a sad state mostly due to the GOP and their wealthy supporters' relentless drive towards anarchy over the past 40-50 years.
4
A very dangerous clown whose continuous display of abysmal ignorance of the world, both politically and humiliatingly, who befriends our enemies while making enemies or very unhappy counties who were our friends,and on and on will result in a world that I cannot imagine will be one I wish to live in.
4
Why is Trump lying newsworthy anymore? It would be newsworthy if he told the truth.
5
Trump as usual is taking credit for something his predecessor done - getting the Nato members to commit to a 2% support level by 2024. As far as I know and as reported in the article, nothing more than that was agreed to.
Will you please start calling out this guy as the liar that he is. I am getting frustrated by the Times tiptoeing around his lying.
“A good leader takes more than his share of the blame and less than his share of the credit” (A. Glasow - 1905 - 1999).
5
Trump is like a five-year old. He's going to keep on going until someone stops him. Reporting what he says and having his name and face on the news 24/7 is only encouraging him. Publicity is his favorite drug. He's addicted. Stop feeding him.
5
I watched Trump answer the questions posed by journalists last night and I swear, I've never seen such a bombastic, idiotic leader in such a powerful position.
He called himself a "genius", acted as though NATO was an organization that that no one had made any effort at all with, especially past US Presidents. Nothing is ever worthwhile until Donald Trump whips it into shape and brags about it. The trouble is that his perception is twisted and he doesn't know what's gone on in the past, nor does he understand the years that it takes and the goodwill to form an operating system like NATO. He's making America look like an untrustworthy country to deal with if they'd allow this madman to ever have come to power.
6
Yes, he's been an excellent stirrer his entire life. Discord and other things.
Seriously.
1
Lies, more lies. He lies all the time.
3
How can any American listen to this man speak and not be horribly embarrassed? I hear people say that he talks like the common man. NO HE DOESN'T! He speaks like an uneducated, classless, clueless, little child. Never in my life have I ever met anyone so obviously insecure about EVERYTHING; who will lie about ANYTHING.
To any Trump supporters who may be reading through comments, how many times do you allow someone to lie to you before you stop believing them?
6
Look, we all know Trump's a liar. It's who he is and what he does. If you want to know the truth about anything that happened, and you've got at least the intelligence of a peanut, you'll ask someone else.
I still can't get my head around the fact that when he's lying and bragging at the same time like he usually does, that people actually listen to him, let alone believe anything he says.
2
Deal with North Korea? It's in the bag, a beauty. Deal with Nato - it's in the bag, a beauty. What is two times zero?
3
Way to show our friends who's the boss, Mr. President. Trump is the loudmouth, cowardly bully at the end of the bar; full of bluster but quick to back down when challenged. Putin is the unassuming quiet guy in the corner who'll tear your head off if you don't mind your business. When Trump meets Putin, the world will see who the boss really is. Trump makes America weaker, and this is why Putin wanted him to win. Way to go, Trumpists, Greens and abstainers. Way to make America great.
3
wow.
The man is ill informed, ill prepared, dishonest, and narcissistic.
He is having a really really having a tough time squaring this circle.
2
DJT spews his imaginary “accomplishments” at a news conference yet again. Nothing to see here.
1
What else can one say, Trump is just one contemptible human being.
2
From NBC News: “NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the talks between Trump and the leaders of other NATO members had been a “frank and open discussion” that “made NATO stronger."
"It has created a new sense of urgency,” he said, adding that "a clear message from President Trump is having an impact.”
So, I guess I’ll believe direct quotes from the NATO Secretary about Trump having an impact making NATO stronger before I’ll believe the liberal media who wants to tear Trump down. Your bias shines brightly.
1
Can the claims of 11 holes in one on his only round of golf be far behind? Oh, wait, wrong despot....
1
The USA have ZERO credibility as long as this man is president.
61
"Do my own thing" or "Go it alone" -- here's a news flash Mr. Trump...you are not the emperor, you are the President and while Napoleon said "L'etats c'est moi" -- you are not the state or the country despite how hard it is for you to accept that. Delusional despots always meet a bad end...we've just never had one as President so this is uncharted for us (or U.S.)
11
Trump is truth optional at every chance. He is detached from reality. He only knows what comes out of his mouth,,,and that only for a couple of minutes. I think he is in the beginning stages of senility.
14
Trump announced the GOP slogan for the 2018 midterms:
"Make America Greatski Again!"
Catchy, no? And prophetic.
1
When it comes to our foreign defense spending, the only winners are investors in the industrial military complex and its investors.
America spends double what other nations pay for health care just to make investors here and all over the world rich on the corruption of our system- imagine how inefficient our spending on defense is.
Great powers come and go, it is often unsustainable corruption that sinks them. Water is surging into our hull.
7
The US spends as much on the military as the next 6 largest-spending countries COMBINED. The US has 800 military bases in 70 countries around the globe. Why would the EU countries spend any more than absolutely necessary when Uncle Sugar is spending so much? Its analogous to going out to an expensive dinner with very wealthy friends, When they offer to pick up the tab, you offer to pay the tip. What's not to like?
1
But GTM, maybe the take-away is not that these other countries aren’t spending enough, but that we’re spending too much.
5
I'm tired of all the mean comments about Donald Trump. How about some honest, accurate headlines?
Donald Trump Cures Cancer!
Donald Trump Turns Iron Into Gold!
Donald Trump Settles Mars!
And you know, he'd proudly take credit for all three.
33
Why does he lie about everthing????
8
What an idiot. One minute NATO is obsolete then, without one thing changing other than what comes out of his big mouth, it's not. Now he's telling people that he has forced additional military spending by NATO members when that clearly is not the case - they are all sticking to the existing agreement to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence by 2024. They all currently contribute their correct amount to the specific NATO budget. Those in the room with him at the NATO meeting must be scratching their heads at what he said at his press conference. Trump seems to live in his own fantasy world, unable or unwilling to accept facts and unable to remember what he said only hours before.
I actually don't believe that he's intentionally trying to destabilise his NATO allies. It's just that he seems to feel that at every event he has to be the centre of attention and he does this by being confrontational. The destabilisation is the collateral damage form his bellicose and uninformed approach. Most of the time he gets absolutely nothing out of it - North Korea, and now NATO, are two prime examples.
6
Tomorrow he is sure to take total credit for the Thai cave rescue. Just watch for it.
13
We have a president who is obviously owned by Russia and trying to undermine NATO. And yet rural America and conservatives are backing this.
I feel like I’m living in one of those tv shows where history took a wrong turn and this was the bizarro world. What if the Confederacy won Civil War? What if Hitler won WWII? What if Trump won 2016?
Who will be the protagonist who rights this wrong?
9
The man is a buffoon, who believes he's smart enough to swindle the American people.
Sadly, he is correct.
9
Applying the term 'useful idiot' to Trump somehow seems wildly understated.
1
It is alarming that Mr Trump is so limited in his vision just to setting the military spending budgets of NATO countries - why limit it to military budgets? Why limit it to NATO?
Wouldn't it be so much better if the White House set all budgets of all countries? Hell, why stop at counties? Why not states, provinces, cities, towns, community organizations, etc.
We could all benefit from Mr Trump's perfect grasp of economy.
8
Its like Godzilla destroying every venue he visits..first Singapore now all of Europe. Lets see if he has the same impact when he arrives in Helsinki. I bet he will be a pussy cat.
5
Sure, for many pecuniary reasons we spend 4% of GP in defense (or in war, as it was called before doublespeak) but we have troops in more than 150 countries and are actively threatening, or just overthrowing, others that may try to affect that peculiar pecuniary relationship with weapons makers. Maybe if we spent less in war projects we could have those solutions that are good for most Americans and not just for Mrs. Boeing, Northrop and Lockheed, and their remaining 0.1 percent.
47
It is fiction that before DJT NATO countries did not increase overall defense spending. In 2014 a process and a signed agreement was put in place to increase overall defense spending by NATO countries to 2% national income. DJT bluster to set the NATO target to 4% national income would result in the USA increasing defense spending by $100 billion to $750 billion.
15
Once again, a word springs to mind when I read about this guy Trump...”idiot”.
172
This man is a complete clown. Or is he completely brilliant? Who benefits most from the dissolution of NATO? Why his good buddy Putin, of course. Putin has raged against NATO for years. He wants it gone. Now comes Donald Trump who continually pulls the wool over the eyes of millions of Americans who would never, ever consciously agree to help Russia and Putin. Those people don't like foreigners like Europeans and think the Europeans are all stuck up anyway---not like the humble (ho,ho) Mr. Trump. Think about it, Trump sells out America for his buddy Putin and millions of Americans cheer him on. What's not brilliant about that?
93
Healthcare you are going to love. North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat, Trade wars are easy to win. NATO members have agreed to increase their military contributions beyond the recommended 2%. Donald Trump the great - a legend in his own mind. Oh, I almost forgot; there was no collusion with Russia.
264
Alain:
... and the level of credibility will continue to go down from ZERO.
Blame as well his Republican enablers in Congress, and the CULT OF TRUMP, a vocal minority of the American people who voted for Apprentice President Delusional Donald.
4
I think that it more likely that responsible party's worked through the night from both sides and came up with a storyline to settle Grampa down. Some promises that allow him to claim victory then all goes back to normal.
Trump has no follow through on anything that has any level of complexity.
80
Everything Trump has proposed would strengthen NATO. Why would any of our allies oppose that? Why would they not hasten to accomplish that?
2
trump proposed nothing - that's why. The deal in place right now, the one they all signed and reaffirmed yesterday, including trump, has been in place since 2014. Nothing new added or subtracted. It's exactly as Macron stated.
NATO is as strong and important now as it was before. It will remain strong despite the efforts of trump and his boss, Vladimir Putin.
191
Because they are sovereign countries, not part of the United States and have their own national aims and goals. The US spends big on the military - look up who the weapons producers are and who contributes to Trumps campaign(s) and then see if you can figure it out.
149
Declaring to spend an arbitrary 2% of GDP on defense does not make for a needs analyzed, zero based military budget. Many nations can provide a substantial military deterent by utilizing a number of cost efficient measures via technology, efficiency, and shared services, among other things. Our government represents the epitomy of wasteful spending and wreckless borrowing (much from China) and is hardly to be recognized as the guardian of taxpayer dollars well spent. Furthermore, Russia is a trading partner to many of these nations, not necessarily an enemy.
While the Russians have certainly played some interesting politics, it seems, countering that with billions in wasteful spending and debt while neglecting their nation's infrastucture, healthcare, and other programs simply weakens the social fabric of all NATO allies, us included.
28
This man is a complete clown.
287
Clowns are funny.I don't see anything remotely funny or ethical or moral or humane or thoughtful coming from this administration.
3
As previously stated, Rex Tillerson had the right assessment of potus.....
President Snake-Oil continues to tout the powerful effects of Snake Oil and Gaslighting Over People.
And back in reality, President Emmanuel Macron of France rejected Mr. Trump’s assertion that the NATO member countries had agreed to anything that was not already in place. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy sounded a similar theme.
“A communiqué was issued yesterday,” Mr. Macron said. “This communiqué is clear. It reaffirms the 2 percent by 2024 commitments. That’s all.”
America's Psychiatric-Patient-In-Chief continues to wander the globe in search of destruction and applause.
November 6 2018.
Hit the eject button.
342
What actually makes Russia an "adversary" for us? They are no longer pointing their nuclear arsenal at us. Sure, they bully their neighbors, not unlike us (including under St. Obama). They meddle in world affairs, just like we do. That sounds like a competitor to me.
1
@QED Tampering with our electoral process comes to mind.
Exactly....and the 2 percent increase was agreed to in 2014, when 44 was President....seems so long ago...but, not forgotten
President Trump is, intentionally or not, driving a wig between Europe and Nato, while, without doubt, at Moscow he will warm up the relationship with Russia. By doing so, he is paving the way for a more deepening defence relationship between France and Germany. In the 1950's, the French president Charles De Gaulle proposed the German chancellor Adenauer to form a strong defence alliance, with France offering a nuclear umbrella to Germany. There was no majority for this plan in the German Bundestag (or parliament). I have the impression that in the coming months the idea could resurface with a better chance of success.
57
It seems it will be the solution, yes.
1
My hope is Canada also comes under that umbrella along with the UK. We cannot try’s Trump to come to our defence. Time for the rest of NATO to think about a time when the USA is out. We need our own weapons to defend ourselves on our own land and terms. Yes a arms race for defence of ones own but that is where I deal we must go.
Trump supporters, most of them, are an interesting crew. He lies about everything and brags about things that don’t happen. On the other hand he cannot tolerate taking responsibility for anything that might look bad. So his supporters must adopt an absurd belief system that has Trump really being who he claims to be, which is obviously untrue. They must be ok with the notion that saying “tough” things is identical with being strong. That claiming to be above all fault and blame is really cool and admirable. I think the favorite is to try to identify with a person that seems to come out on top every moment, that is willing to throw friends under the bus, say anything, appear to care about nothing but his own coolness, and pass ostentation as true wealth. I get this: the desire to escape, through pretend, the harsh reality of life. If only reality were accommodating.
327
Very well written, very good insight.
2
Most Trump supporters get ALL their "news" from Fox, or from Facebook posts (many straight from Russia.) They hear Trump's claims, but NEVER hear an opposing voice, or an intelligent rebuttal, or the truth. That makes it easy for Trumpees to be snowed into drinking his cool-aid. They are ill-informed, and that's the way they like it.
4
They have been watching too many reality shows. Remember, they are all made up, just like Trump is, they are not real.
3
"Buoyed by what he considered to be his achievements at NATO, Mr. Trump also previewed his plans for his meeting with Mr. Putin. He said he would discuss the extension of one nuclear arms control treaty and violations of another, and might broach the topic of possibly stopping military exercises in the Baltics, a goal of Mr. Putin’s.
Everything he seems to be doing lately coincides with goals of Mr. Putin's! Starting with the voluntary offering to suspend military exercises between the US and South Korea during his "summit" that generated nothing to further peace.
It's actually sort of interesting to watch the reactions of NATO countries to Mr. Trump's gaslighting. They purport not to know what's happening, just like so many in the United States can't nail down what the president has said, did say, is saying, will say.
To say Putin is a "competitor" is beyond the pale. Perhaps he doesn't know the meaning of the word 'adversary," but if he does, he certainly doesn't think Putin is anything aside from a pleasant friend he wants to get to know better.
This man is not only clownish, he's dangerous. More because he's supported by an entire party that seems all to happy to watch him hijack democracy.
397
VOTE. EVERY. REPUBLICAN. OUT. OF. OFFICE.
No exceptions. No excuses.
The GOP has proved beyond a doubt that they are unfit to govern, and have violated their oaths "to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States again all enemies, foreign and domestic."
The Congressional GOP are no longer just mere sycophants, they are now ACCOMPLICES.
I served in the US Army to defend our country and on our way life. I never thought that if this country started to crumble that it would happen during my lifetime. Furthermore, I never imagined the person holding the highest office in this country would be the person purposely initiating the crumbling of our ideals, beliefs, and most importantly the rule of law.
659
To be fair, from Bush to Obama, all pressed NATO countries to contribute more. They just did it in private and would not openly talk about it. All that nice behavior didn't change the contribution much. Now Trump does it with his bullying style and says it aloud. As a result of Trump's approach even if the contribution by other countries rose by few thousand dollars and even if a couple of countries agree to increase it, it is still a success than before.
18
Yup. If it turns out better then it'll have turned out better.
To be fair, trump does nothing, claims everything, and then goes on to the next shinny object. If anything, trump is submissive to putin and does his biding, even if it is treasonous to our own country.
2
In 2014 European NATO countries agreed to raise their contribution to its budget to 2% GDP.
And that, AN32, is hardly measured by "few thousand dollars".
Trump's only success in Brussels was that he said one thing behind closed doors, insulting the few allies the US still has, while singing a completely different tune - full of lies and bombast - as is his wont during his press conference.
2
Apparently our President knows very little about people, especially national leaders. You can't just push them around, as if they were waiters or groundskeepers. If you insist on trying to bully them, they will do the opposite of what you want.
It doesn't help that Mr. Trump's personality is creepy, but that's a subject for another day.
196
Mike, my thoughts exactly! Our President’s experience is that he’s gotten this far by bullying his way through life—so why depart from your successful MO now? Except these guys are the last people on the planet who can be bullied. For example, Chancellor Merkel survived decades under the Stasi in East Germany; she’s hardly going to be pushed around by a blowhard like this guy.
12
To the person whose only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
Trump's hammer is what Roy Cohn taught him, with only minor variations: intimidate and shout a lot, attack, shout louder, counterattack even more viciously, and declare victory regardless of the facts of the matter. He doesn't distinguish among adversaries (or even distinguish adversaries from allies), whether working folk, high-flying financial types, or heads of state.
Disrupting? That’s what Trump campaigned and won on. Why is anyone wringing their hands? He spent the 18 months before November 2016 saying this was exactly what he’d do if elected. Unlike most modern presidents, he’s methodically kept his campaign promises, checking off the boxes one by one. Whether or not his promises will translate to sound government policy, he deserves credit for that much.
14
what are these election promises he has kept?
other then the tax cuts for the richest Americans and corporations what legislation has he passed?
and when did he ever say during his campaign that he would support Brexit and Boris Johnson while criticizing the elected officials of Britain?
31
I remember one campaign promise: that Trump would fix the ACA so that the millions who voted for him and need health care would get a boost. How'd that one go?
38
Yes. “The greatest healthcare ever. It’s so simple. Let insurers compete across state lines. Problem fixed.” Still waiting. While America and Americans get sicker every day. You couldn’t write a crazier script than what we are experiencing.
3
I really have to wonder how many Americans recognize the way we are now being viewed by the rest of the world? The damage Trump is doing to the name of the United States is simply enormous. With 95% of the world's wealth now living outside of the US, we need to be forging trade deals, not waging trade wars.
90
The economy is firing on all cylinders, NATO members will soon be contributing their fair share, trade imbalance being corrected, sitting down with North Korea. What more do you want?
6
It is worth reading media reports from outside of the US about Trump's behaviour at the NATO summit. These reports highlight exactly what the world thinks of him.
25
Joe in Colorado: What more do we want? Decency. Courtesy. Humility. A president who represents the best of America, not the worst. In fact, merely uttering two coherent, verifiable sentences in a row would be a good start.
There is way more to America than the factors you cite. Even if all of them were spot-on perfect permanently, we would still be appalled & disheartened that such a man is our president.
3
Elected Republicans: This is how you govern?! Disrespect our nation's allies; embrace, flatter and smooch up to our most powerful, nuclear-armed adversary. How did your Grand Old Party become this villainous and corrupt?
133
I cannot fathom why European leaders such as Mrs. May continue to treat Trump as a world leader, with kindness and actions worthy of a great country. He is not worthy. He does not represent the United States. He is, as thoughtful people know, a clueless childish bully who insults all with impunity. Why don’t you instead treat him with the same contempt he treats each of you. An invite to a black tie dinner? And a visit with Queen Elizabeth? Why? He will tell the world how much you all love him, and the Queen just gushed over him. Please don’t let him continue to humiliate you, but treat him instead as he treats you.
We have had enough of him here in the states. To listen to him boast over how he took over NATO and won, is unbearable.
Please stop treating him as a normal leader. He is not!
Kathleen
25