When it comes to Trump, he’s always involved with winning and breaking records.
And this time it would seem that just the mere thought of him is having that same effect in
Last year there were only 11 NATO allies that meet their pledge of contributing 2% of their GDP to the group.
This year many members are anticpating Trump’s win and have stepped up their obligation. So we currently have 18 allies now hitting their target.
The other 13 member states need to step it up!
NATO members brace for Trump win as record number of members move to meet spending pledges https://t.co/YsibVEzn4I
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 14, 2024
Fox News reports:
A majority of NATO members will meet their spending targets this year as member states grapple with the potential of former President Trump winning re-election in November.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced Wednesday that 18 of the alliance’s 31 members are on track to meet their pledges of contributing 2% of GDP to the group. European states are on track to contribute $380 billion this year, and Germany will meet its 2% pledge for the first time since the Cold War.
The figures show a dramatic uptick compared to 2023, which saw just 11 NATO allies meet their 2% spending pledge.
“That is another record number and a six-fold increase from 2014 when only three allies met the target,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The change comes after Trump offered harsh words for NATO allies at a campaign rally last week, going so far as to suggest the U.S. would not defend NATO allies that do not contribute their full share.
Here’s a clip of those ‘harsh words’.
It seems Trump really pushed someone’s button with this:
Trump says he would encourage Russia to attack NATO allies: I said I would not protect our NATO allies. In fact, I would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want pic.twitter.com/ak1a3Mtwzq
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 10, 2024
The Associated Press adds:
BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that its European members and Canada have ramped up defense spending to record levels, as he warned that former U.S. President Donald Trump was undermining their security by calling into question the U.S. commitment to its allies.
Stoltenberg said U.S. partners in NATO have spent $600 billion more on their military budgets since 2014 when Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine prompted them all to reverse the spending cuts they had made after the Cold War ended.
“Last year we saw an unprecedented rise of 11% across European allies and Canada,” Stoltenberg told reporters on the eve of a meeting of the organization’s defense ministers in Brussels.
In 2014, NATO leaders committed to move toward spending 2% of their gross domestic product on defense within a decade. It has mostly been slow going, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago focused minds. The 2% figure is now considered a minimum requirement.
On Saturday, Trump, the front-runner in the U.S. for the Republican Party’s nomination this year, said he once warned that he would allow Russia to do whatever it wants to NATO members that are “delinquent” in devoting 2% of GDP to defense.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has assailed Trump’s comments without mentioning the former president by name. He posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, saying that “any relativization of NATO’s support guarantee is irresponsible and dangerous, and is in the interest of Russia alone” and that “no one can play, or ‘deal,’ with Europe’s security.”
Nato is set to announce on Wednesday that 18 of its 31 members will meet the target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defence this year https://t.co/cpDD8uIjp4 pic.twitter.com/XqAWLlhB6L
— Financial Times (@FT) February 13, 2024
President Trump really ruffled some feathers with that comment he made.
Must’ve been over the target.
Even ol’ Jen Psaki commented on it:
BREAKING: Jen Psaki just blasted Donald Trump’s remarks endangering NATO and blasted the media for their refusal to cover Trump’s treasonous rhetoric. Retweet to ensure the whole country sees. pic.twitter.com/tKYM6z8kyF
— Biden’s Wins (@BidensWins) February 11, 2024
And everyone’s favorite coven, I mean, The View:
.@JoyVBehar: For Trump to say if NATO doesn't pay their bills, by the way, does Trump pay his bills? For him to say Russia can invade Europe, that should be a warning sign to everyone pic.twitter.com/8PsIjb5c2w
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 14, 2024
So many Democrats mega mad.
BREAKING: Former NATO Supreme Commander Wesley Clark slams Donald Trump's comments asking Russia to invade our NATO allies as "treasonous". Retweet to ensure the whole country knows Donald Trump is an anti-America traitor. pic.twitter.com/7fdWfE00zp
— Biden’s Wins (@BidensWins) February 12, 2024
There’s dozens of posts like these.
Liberals really seem to be in a panic over that comment.
It seems they think they got a new “gotcha!” moment over on Trump.
But here’s MeetKevin having Trump’s back — an opinion and explanation that I think is very reasonable:
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