Posted on 03/21/2016 2:36:29 PM PDT by GodGunsGuts
Trump Complains America Leads Too Much, Wants Diminished Role in NATO
Calls America a 'poor country'
Republican front-runner Donald Trump expressed his distaste for how often America takes a leadership role in international affairs on Monday.
Trump was specifically upset with the role the United States plays in NATO.
“Ukraine is a country that affects us far less than it affects other countries in NATO, and yet we’re doing all of the lifting,” Trump told The Washington Post.
“They’re not doing anything. And I say, ‘Why is it that Germany’s not dealing with NATO on Ukraine? Why is it that other countries that are in the vicinity of Ukraine, why aren’t they dealing? Why are we always the one that’s leading, potentially the third world war with Russia.’”
Trump told the paper’s editorial board that the United States could not afford to play the same leadership role in world affairs it has played for decades.
“I do think it’s a different world today, and I don’t think we should be nation-building anymore,” he said. “I think it’s proven not to work, and we have a different country than we did then. We have $19 trillion in debt. We’re sitting, probably, on a bubble. And it’s a bubble that if it breaks, it’s going to be very nasty.
“I just think we have to rebuild our country.”
Trump then said that the United States is not rich anymore and, therefor, can’t afford to maintain its leadership role in the international military partnership.
“We certainly can’t afford to do this anymore,” he told the paper. “NATO is costing us a fortune, and yes, we’re protecting Europe with NATO, but we’re spending a lot of money. South Korea is very rich, great industrial country, and yet we’re not reimbursed fairly for what we do. We’re constantly sending our ships, sending our planes, doing our war games—we’re reimbursed a fraction of what this is all costing.”
Instead, Trump labeled America a poor country.
“I think we were a very powerful, very wealthy country, and we are a poor country now,” he said. “We’re a debtor nation.”
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Hes right. Nato needs to be destroyed.
Cruz and Lose!
With Europe turning Muslim, why should we defend them?
“I do think it’s a different world today, and I don’t think we should be nation-building anymore,” he said. “I think it’s proven not to work, and we have a different country than we did then. We have $19 trillion in debt. We’re sitting, probably, on a bubble. And it’s a bubble that if it breaks, it’s going to be very nasty.
“I just think we have to rebuild our country.”
Well, the tax-and-spend military industrial welfare queen neocons (and neolibs like Hillary) are really gonna hate that one.
I’d defend the Visegrad Countries*, that’s it.
*That’s Poland, Czech Rep., Slovakia and Hungary, countries that still stand for Western values.
LOL....they sure will.
But definitely reimagined and realigned.
NATO is a Cold War alliance, and it is well past its "sell by" date in terms of current structure and mission.
And, by the way, we ARE a poor nation. $21T in debt.
I tend to agree with Trump on this one.
Well, Donald Trump has been successful pretending to be a conservative in order to get the conservative vote.
Now he is pretending to be a Libertarian for the Libertarian vote.
Let’s see if they are as gullible.
Other than another rousing cheer, can you explain how this article is somehow an endorsement of your team? I must be missing something here.
The US did all the heavy lifting in WWII. So where did that get us versus Socialism? We unwittingly funded European Socialism, several of which stayed “neutral” during the war—even enriching themselves from both sides!
How is any of what Trump said a bad thing?
He’s right, they should be defending themselves. NATO should’ve been disbanded at the end of the Cold War.
I thought Trump was Hitler? Guess not.
Right now the extremists in NoVa are gnashing their teeth at Trump. And to think he did this the same day as an AIPAC conference where every toady Republican has to sound like he is running for dog catcher on the West Bank.
Trump is right.
America should lead. We need to expect these other countries to assume their fair share of the obligations. A weak American president has allowed the American people to be taken advantage o throughout the world.
Americans should not be saps. We should be leaders. We should be strong.
Good for Trump.
Now that Trump has raised the issue, there is no evidence that the Founding States had intended for the USA armed forces to police the globe.
And if patriots think that USA armed forces should police the globe, they need to work with state and federal lawmakers to appropriately amend the Constitution imo.
Cruz supporters are Reagan Conservatives...meaning a strong military and a secure world for freedom.
Most NATO troops are Americans who die under the banner of NATO. Screw NATO.
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