Second day of the NATO summit in Ankara. When meeting the press, an ill- tempered Trump threw a tantrum. NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte listened carefully to his rants when Trump declared the sloppy, drafted-in-a-hurry, hardly celebrated (maybe by the Iranians) Memorandum of Misunderstanding with Iran was “over” after exchange of military strikes last night which technically ended the cease fire. The MoU was dead on arrival.
Breathless Trump called Iranians names (sick people, liars, scum, cancer) and explained that the U.S. had hit Iran 20 times harder last night. He quickly turned his wrath to NATO itself, claimed he had in mind to test NATO allies, despite not needing them. The failed the test, according to him.
Knowing, but ignoring, the fact that NATO is a defence alliance (and not Trump’s auxiliary troops whenever he wants to engage in a military adventure; nor are member states sort of a U.S. protectorate), he spoke to Germany, to France to Italy (for getting help in his and Israel’s unprovoked war on Iran with disastrous consequences not only for world economy), “but not to Spain” which then got his special treatment. “No trade business anymore” with Spain, Trump expressed his contempt (see Rutte’s smirk at 4:03). Spain is “a terrible partner, they don’t participate, they don’t pay.” Bad people as well. “No trade, no business with them anymore!”
Trump’s rant about NATO allies which are not ready to pay (which sounded like a broken record) was rebutted by Rutte albeit Trump’s facial expression suggested disbelief, see 8:30. Rutte even mentioned the five thousand airplanes having taken off European airports in support in the Iran war. That Trump apparently found laughable.
And then Greenland, “a big problem for us.” (When Trump mentions “us”, I am wondering, does he mean the U.S. or just himself, the majestic plural, the royal “we”.) Trump even referred to the complicated and, rather inglorious history of the icy, continent-size arctic island, Denmark, Nazi Germany, that the U.S. build military bases on Greenland in 1941 (10:42). Ultimately, U.S. returned Greenland to Denmark. “I wouldn’t have done that!”
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