Trump Takes Credit For NATO — And Is Promptly Reminded Of A Few Pesky Facts
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When Donald Trump was president, he openly preferred Russian president Vladimir Putin over America’s NATO allies, and even suggested leaving the alliance.
But that didn’t stop the former president from taking credit for the existence of the group of Western powers on Monday in a statement emailed to reporters:
“I hope everyone is able to remember that it was me, as President of the United States, that got delinquent NATO members to start paying their dues, which amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars. There would be no NATO if I didn’t act strongly and swiftly. Also, it was me that got Ukraine the very effective anti-tank busters (Javelins) when the previous Administration was sending blankets. Let History so note!” Trump bragged.
Observers familiar with Trump’s antipathy toward NATO and his lack of concern for Ukraine’s defense against Russia quickly pointed out the fact-free nature of his statement.
Politico reporter Sam Stein (formerly of HuffPost) posted Trump’s statement on Twitter, with some context.
Trump, who discussed pulling the US from NATO takes credit for NATO’s existence in a new statement. Trump, who threatened to withhold weapons funding from Ukraine to get dirt on Biden, takes credit for Ukrainian weapons in same statement. pic.twitter.com/OvyorRtHmh
— Sam Stein (@samstein) February 28, 2022
Others soon followed, including retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council aide who reported that Trump was trying to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son in exchange for U.S. aid. That disclosure helped form the basis of Trump’s first impeachment.
It was trump that undermine U.S. national security & froze military assistance to Ukraine, leaving that lion of a nation, vulnerable to attack. It was Trump’s attacks on NATO that encouraged Putin to believe NATO was fragile. https://t.co/lkaPQ875rM
— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) February 28, 2022
Others also provided fact checks.
July 25, 2019
Zelenskyy: “[W]e are almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes.”
Trump: “I want you do us a favor though…” https://t.co/GbIFPVyIYt— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) February 28, 2022
This is the guy who withheld military aid to Ukraine, openly talked of dismantling NATO, and cozied up to Putin. Perhaps he should sit this one out. https://t.co/8MboOhiZoe
— GregorydJohnsen (@gregorydjohnsen) February 28, 2022
Trump threatened with withdraw if countries didn’t meet minimum obligation of GDP spending on their own defense. Lativa’s FM, and other Baltic state leaders, said the admin overall strengthened NATO and increased spending on defense. None of this here is true. https://t.co/y2GcUXe4DO
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 28, 2022
And never forget that when donald trump withheld military aid to Ukraine to extort President Zelenskyy, 99% of republicans in Congress refused to remove trump from office. https://t.co/7pFAKO1sHQ
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@BillPascrell) February 28, 2022
Trump ordered 12K US forces to leave Germany — because it didn’t do what he wanted. Let History so note! https://t.co/edjK0D1poU
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) February 28, 2022
One person did find it interesting as a “politicial litmus test” that Trump now wants to take credit for NATO, considering that the world is rallying for Ukraine and against Russia.
All the incongruities cited aside, there’s one notable thing about this statement. As a political litmus test. Trump has a knack for jumping into a parade and claiming it’s his. It’s notable that Trump *wants* to take credit for this. https://t.co/FB0jIKbkdJ
— Alexander Panetta (@Alex_Panetta) February 28, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.