Trump calling European bluff on NATO commitment: Analyst
US President Donald Trump's insistence that NATO members should spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense is meant to "call their bluff" on their commitment to the alliance, says a political analyst.
Trump lashed out at Germany once again on Tuesday over its large trade surplus with the US and its low contributions to NATO after Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested that Germany and other European countries could no longer rely on the US under Trump's presidency.
In a tweeted message, Trump said, "We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for US. This will change."
“It’s no accident that Donald Trump tweeted his critical remarks of Germany right after Angela Merkel attacked the United States as not a reliable partner, her accusation was based on the United States not signing up to the Paris climate change agreement which shows how bound by ideological blindness our European partners are,” James Jatras, a former Senate foreign policy analyst, told Press TV.
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“Trump’s insistence on 2-percent contribution of GDP for military purposes seems almost designed to call the Europeans’ bluff on their commitment to NATO because it is clear that virtually non of the countries in Europe are going to meet that 2 percent target and of course all this business about a European army in substitute for NATO is simply a non-starter,” he added.
“So it’s quite clear that on both sides really it seems that Trump and Angela Merkel, the de facto hegemon of Europe, seem inclined to distance themselves from one another and I think Trump is simply making that clear by voicing it in 'America First' terms that it’s about trade, it’s about burden sharing, and if the Europeans want to go their own way; that’s great.”
Trump was highly critical of the military alliance on the campaign trail, but has softened his stance to some extent since taking office in January.
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