EU leaders ‘scared to death’ by Trump – Biden — RT World News

US President Joe Biden criticized his predecessor Donald Trump's statements regarding NATO “Totally weird” After the Republican front-runner said that Washington should not defend its European allies who refuse to fulfill their military spending obligations.

President Biden criticized his Republican rival during a “a surprise” He appeared as a guest on NBC's “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on Monday, insisting that Trump's idea that the United States has no obligation to protect its allies for free is wrong. “Totally against our interests.”

“I've known every major foreign leader for a long time, and I know all these guys very well. They're scared to death. What does it mean for them, for them, what does it mean for us to walk away.” Biden said. “What he's talking about is outrageous.”

Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail was consistent with his NATO-skeptic stance during his tenure in the White House. Speaking at a rally in South Carolina earlier this month, Trump recalled an encounter when he told a European leader that unless that country reached a spending threshold, the United States would consider it. “sinner” And not to defend it if it is exposed to a Russian attack.

“Actually I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You have to pay.” Trump recalled telling the unnamed ally.

She faces criticism for this reason “dangerous” And “Un-American” In his stance, Trump doubled down on his verbal attacks on low-spending members of the military bloc, claiming that the rest of NATO needs to send at least as much aid to Ukraine as the United States does.

Trump also called on his loyalists in the US legislature to oppose any future aid to Ukraine unless it includes a means to recover the money.

“They want to give them an additional $60 billion.” Trump said. “Why should you just hand it to them? Do it as a loan… If they can provide it, they will pay it back to us.”

With Sweden clearing the final hurdle this week, the transatlantic alliance now has 32 member states, only two of which are located in North America. The organization recommends that each country spend at least 2% of its gross domestic product on military purposes, but even the richest members, such as Germany, France and Italy, have failed to achieve this goal for decades. However, small EU countries have increased their military spending during Trump's presidency, something he described as a personal diplomatic achievement.