Former President Donald Trump admitted at a rally that he initially had little knowledge about NATO before becoming president, but claimed he quickly grasped its workings. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden delivered a speech opening the 75th anniversary NATO Summit in Washington, DC, amid scrutiny following the Biden-Trump debate on CNN. Biden also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
During his rally in Florida, Trump discussed NATO, revealing his early unfamiliarity with it and how he confronted NATO members about financial contributions:
“Today he’s with the people from NATO and these people show up. I know very well every one of them. They’re very smart. They’re at the top of their game, and then they’re saying, ‘What the hell is with this guy? We know we can’t figure out –’ You know I saved NADDO [sic] because when I went down — hey, Barack Hussein Obama, has anyone ever heard of him?”
Trump recalled his initial interactions with NATO, highlighting his blunt approach to member countries not meeting financial obligations:
“I didn’t even know what the hell NATO was too much before, but it didn’t take me long to figure it out. Like about two minutes. And the first thing I figured out was they weren’t paying. We were paying.”
He recounted pressing NATO members on their financial commitments and their response to his demands:
“I went back to the second meeting and I said, you know what? You’re not paying your bills. You got to pay your bills. So somebody stood up from one of the countries, 28 countries, and only seven were paying what they should be paying. They said, ‘Sir, may I ask you a question? If we don’t pay your bills, will you protect us from Russia?’ I said, ‘No, I will not protect you from Russia.’ The money came in by the billions!”
Donald Trump, yesterday, claimed that Don Jr. has a great wife.
Don Jr. isn't married.
Is that dementia? Or is that only dementia when a Democrat does it? pic.twitter.com/rHUObBR5DR
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) July 10, 2024
