Trump knocks Macron in tweet moments after landing in Paris – By Chris Mills Rodrigo (thehill.com) / Nov 9 2018
President Trump called out French President Emmanuel Macron in a tweet on Friday moments after landing in Paris for a weekend trip.
“President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia,” Trump wrote.
“Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!”
President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018
Macron earlier this week pushed for a “true, European army,” highlighting the potential threat of Russia and saying that the continent needed “to defend itself better alone.”
“We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America,” he told French radio station Europe 1, according to the BBC.
“Who is the main victim? Europe and its security. I want to build a real security dialogue with Russia, which is a country I respect, a European country — but we must have a Europe that can defend itself on its own without relying only on the United States.”
Macron has warned that European nations can no longer rely on the U.S. to defend them. His latest remarks came after Trump decided to pull out of a key 1987 nuclear treaty with Russia.
Trump’s tweet on Friday saying that “Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO” echoed a message that he has used repeatedly throughout his presidency.
The president hasn’t publicly threatened to withdraw from NATO, but multiple reports have indicated that during a July summit in Brussels he privately threatened to do so if other member nations did not commit to increasing their defense spending.
He reportedly demanded that all countries “immediately” hit a goal of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense spending. In 2014, NATO nations agreed to reach that goal by 2022.
Trump is in Paris this weekend to commemorate Armistice Day and the end of World War I. He is set to have a bilateral meeting with Macron on Saturday. The subject of the discussion is not yet known.
