When Donald Trump was president, he openly preferred Russian president Vladimir Putin over America’s NATO allies, and even suggested leaving the alliance.
But that didn’t stop the former president from taking credit for the existence of the group of Western powers on Monday in a statement emailed to reporters:
“I hope everyone is able to remember that it was me, as President of the United States, that got delinquent NATO members to start paying their dues, which amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars. There would be no NATO if I didn’t act strongly and swiftly. Also, it was me that got Ukraine the very effective anti-tank busters (Javelins) when the previous Administration was sending blankets. Let History so note!” Trump bragged.
Observers familiar with Trump’s antipathy toward NATO and his lack of concern for Ukraine’s defense against Russia quickly pointed out the fact-free nature of his statement.
Politico reporter Sam Stein (formerly of HuffPost) posted Trump’s statement on Twitter, with some context.
Others soon followed, including retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council aide who reported that Trump was trying to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son in exchange for U.S. aid. That disclosure helped form the basis of Trump’s first impeachment.
Others also provided fact checks.
One person did find it interesting as a “politicial litmus test” that Trump now wants to take credit for NATO, considering that the world is rallying for Ukraine and against Russia.