UKC

Someone please tell El cheeto that this isn't how NATO works.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/325847-donald-trump-printed-out-...

“The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations,” a German minister told the newspaper.

Never ceases to amaze me with his antics.

What a buffoon.

TWS

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Yes he is a clumsy oaf but the principle that everyone should pay their fair contribution to Nato is surely not in question? The problem with fixing on the oafishness is that it detracts from the principle and in that regard he is spot on.

Al

In reply to Chive Talkin\':


Someone already has:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/donald-trump-nato-us-ambassa...

Whether he pays any attention is another thing entirely.

In reply to GridNorth:


That's fair enough, if countries sign up to 2% GDP they should stick to it. However, before send daft invoices, Trump should remember there are other forms of contribution apart from cash. How many military bases does the US have in Germany? They aren't just there for the defence of Germany. If it came to a land war between the US and the Russians, Germany's major contribution would be to provide the pitch.

In reply to Dave Garnett:

You do know why there are UK and US bases in Germany, don't you?

In reply to Chive Talkin\':
Obviously he is a prat but seems here he has a point, why aren't they paying what they agreed, and what others are paying (the UK included)? It is not as if they cannot afford it. Not sure why this hasn't been mentioned up till now either.

In reply to mrphilipoldham:


I know why they were there in the 40s and 50s, and I know why they were there in the 70s and since - and defending Germany is far from their only function.

In reply to snoop6060:

But if the US and UK are spending 2% because they engage in non NATO conflict should this count?
Do you think Greece, Italy and Germany feel they've benefitted from our involvement in the Middle East?

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Asking countries to pay what they agreed to in NATO isn't my issue with this story and if brought up in a constructive manner and given the airtime and political will it's a fair point.

However getting aids to print out "fake" invoices that have all the weight and relevance of monopoly money is just plain daft and makes him look very childish and frankly even more stupid than he's reckoned to be.

Maybe these sort of antics are what goes in big business nowadays. It's like some sort of extortion attempt from a parking firm that knows it trying to pull a fast one .

TWS

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Wonder if she got a discount Able Archer 83 or any of these other near incinerations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_close_calls

In reply to Chive Talkin\':
I wish the US would become more isolationist, especially towards Europe and the Middle East.
Then we'll see how well we can do without them.

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Merkel should have shown him her NATO Groupon voucher.

In reply to Chive Talkin\': im no fan of the Donald but is this actually true? Noone else is reporting this and im sure it would have lekkede before.

Late, and fake, news

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

It's all about playing to the home crowd