Polish foreign minister tells MSNBC host Trump 'is right' to call for NATO to pay more for its own defense

Fox News ^ | March 14, 2024 | Alexander Hall

[McGruff]

Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski told MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell Wednesday that former President Trump "is right" about NATO countries needing to spend more on their own defense.

Trump ignited a controversy during a campaign speech last month in South Carolina when he said he once told an unnamed country he would encourage Russia to do "whatever the hell they want" to NATO members that did not meet spending guidelines on defense.

"NATO was busted until I came along," Trump said at the rally. "I said, ‘Everybody’s gonna pay.' They said, ‘Well, if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?' I said, 'Absolutely not.' They couldn't believe the answer."

[Paul R.]

A couple things there.

First, one must remember the context of Trump’s original statement. He had called for the delinquent NATO countries to ante up, and they had just snickered at him. Live, on camera. Trump haters were yuckking it up, with their “no global respect for Trump” argument.

Also, a pretty good guess would be that the leader Trump was talking about would be from one of the biggest slackers, Germany being biggest / the worst example. (Big, powerful economy, wealthy, down around 1.3% of GDP for defense...) But Germany (or almost any other probable target of Trump’s ire) has other countries between it and Russia who DO pay more for defense. Germany, Spain, etc., are / were highly unlikely to be attacked by Russia. So, Trump’s threat was just bluster and rhetoric, and not even very good bluster and rhetoric. Germany in particular was a huge partner of Russia — “do what they want” would not include an attack by Russia in the 1st place.

The other point I keep making here on FR, is that NATO continues to be set up for the USA to be the big dog for a reason few like to or are honest enough to discuss publicly. In a disrupted, lack-of-security environment, a fracturing or fractured Europe armed up heavily (and probably arming even further as things deteriorate) becomes, imo, the most dangerous place on Earth. Granted that most of Europe would have to follow for some time the example currently being provided by the Poles, to get to such a point. But history suggests that at some point such a swing is likely. And fear can be a great motivator, if the US bows out of the scene...

[Rockingham]

I agree. A peaceful Europe aligned with the US is in our national interest. My guess is that a Trump II administration would get a better reception from Europe than Trump I, with Germany grudgingly increasing their military spending and Russia even more firmly shut out by sanctions due to the Ukraine War. I think that 2025 will see the Russian economy in increasing distress with military production faltering.