AP FACT CHECK: Trump's provocations in Europe and the facts

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump shook his entire trip to Europe, making statements about NATO, Britain and Germany. and they did it. The accuracy was not always the hallmark of these statements

A week in review:

TRUMP: "I have not criticized the Prime Minister." – Press conference Friday with British Prime Minister Theresa May

THE FACTS: He criticized it

In an interview with the British newspaper Sun, he complained strongly of his approach to pull Britain out of the UK. ;European Union. not at the will of voters who have called for this step in a 2016 referendum. May proposes to maintain some commercial and economic ties that, according to Trump, should be broken.

"I would have done it very differently," he said during the interview. "I told Theresa May how to do it, but she did not agree, she did not listen, she wanted to change course, I would say that she is probably gone in the opposite direction. She should negotiate the best way she knows how, but it's really a shame what's happening … The case she's striking is a very different affair from the one on which people voted. "

He went all the way here to say that if Britain remains partially economically integrated with the EU," that would likely end a major trade relationship with the United States "and" kill "the chances of a bilateral trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom.I told him that" everything you do suits me "and that he planned to conclude a" big trade agreement " bilaterally with the United Kingdom, an incredible opportunity for our two countries and that we will seize it fully. "

                                                                                   

TRUMP, speaking Friday after a NATO summit marked by its burning rhetoric and crowned by a controversial emergency meeting: "There was a lot of love in this room. "

THE FACTS: It seems that Trump's partners did not feel the love.

Despite attempts to mitigate differences, Trump continues to question the depth of his commitment to the alliance. "I was ready to do things that would have been a little tough yesterday," Trump said Friday, citing concerns from NATO partners that the US engagement might be fragile . He also said that NATO "helps Europe more than it helps us". This, after the conclusion of the summit: "I believe in NATO."

According to Trump, the unit was finally re-established by a new commitment from NATO partners to increase their military spending in order to ease the pressure on the United States. budget. "Many people were surprised that NATO was meeting in the end," he said. But European leaders said they just agreed to continue doing what they did – increase military spending under a target set in 2014 of spending 2% of their national product raw to defense by 2024.

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TRUMP, in Sun Interview: "I was cutting a ribbon for the opening of Turnberry – you know, they did a whole job of remodeling It's beautiful – the eve of the vote on Brexit, I said Brexit was coming in. Because people do not want to be confronted with the horrific immigration problems they face in from other countries. "

FACTS: He mixes his predictions and his days. A month earlier, he had accurately predicted that Britain would vote to leave the European Union. The day after the 2016 vote – not the day before – he predicted that the EU would collapse because of the withdrawal of Britain. It remains to be seen. He predicted the collapse of the EU at an inauguration ceremony of his Scottish golf club in Turnberry

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TRUMP, affirming the progress of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Kim: "We'll see everything, but there were no missile tests, there was no research there, they blew up a site, I heard that they were blowing up another missile site.-Press conference on Thursday in Brussels

THE FACTS: North Korea did not say that it was not the same. it had blown up launch sites and before the summit it destroyed something else – its test site for underground nuclear explosions.The journalists witnessed the demolition of three tunnels and neighboring buildings. may have already been compromised by previous nuclear explosions and its destruction was one step among others that would be needed in to achieve denuclearization.

If anything has been done to shoot at missile launch sites, it's marginal. Authorities have not verified reports that North Korea demolished a booth used for missile ejection tests in May. The ejection tests are a limited step before a large-scale launch

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TRUMP on NATO: "Everyone is in agreement to substantially increase their commitment, they will do it to levels they had never thought of before. "And," I can tell you now that NATO is now a very well suited machine: people pay money that they have never paid before, they are happy to doing it and the United States are treated much more equitably. "THE FACTS: There is no outward sign that Trump's aggressive stance changed anything for the alliance other than contaminating his nail polish

The members of NATO had already agreed in 2014 to stop reducing their military budgets and set themselves the goal of "spending" to spend 2% of their gross domestic product for their own defense by 2024. [19659016] On Wednesday, Trump made a mistake by asking NATO members to more than double their military budget, suggesting a new point of reference that would allow them to devote 4% of their economy to defense. NATO estimates that the United States is spending about 3.5% of its GDP on its military budget this year.)

But on Thursday, French, German and Italian leaders did not support Trump's badertion according to which he would have ripped off new concessions. the alliance on their mid-spending I have said that we know we have to do more and that we have been doing it for a long time, "said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "This turning point has been going on for a long time."

French President Emmanuel Macron said the Allies had reaffirmed in their communiqué their intention to reach the goal of 2% by 2024 and no more.

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TRUMP: I told people that I would be very unhappy if they did not take their commitments very seriously because the United States paid a huge sum, probably 90% of the time. NATO costs. "- press conference in Brussels

THE FACTS: Not true: The US military budget compromises about 70% of military spending of all NATO member countries, not 90% – for commitments not just European military.

NATO has an administrative budget of about $ 3 billion, some civilian and military costs.The US share is capped at 22% The United States can bear higher costs of some military missions under the banner of NATO.

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TRUMP: "Frankly, many countries owe us a lot of money for Many years, where they are delinquent, as far as I'm concerned, because the United States had to pay for them, so if you go back 10 or 20 years, you'll only have to add everything. – Remarks Wednesday during a meeting with the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenber g

TRUMP: "Many NATO countries, which we are supposed to defend, are not only running out of their current commitment of 2% (low), but also delinquent for many years in payments that have not been made. Will they repay the United States? "- tweet tuesday

THE FACTS: There is no such debt to the United States or NATO, so no delinquency or payment issue.

talk about how much each NATO country is spending on its own defense and pushing them to spend more.This would reduce the pressure on US military spending.In 2014, before Trump became president, the members NATO have agreed to stop reducing their military budgets and set themselves the goal of "spending" 2% of their gross domestic product on their own defense territory – by 2024. This It was not a "commitment", not a direct contribution to NATO, not a payment due to the United States, and not something that alliance members were committing to realize immediately.

Trump is right spend less than 2% of their GDP in their defense budget, although others advance in c

Trump has attacked NATO members such as Germany for delaying their military budgets. . He has repeatedly stated that because of his pressure, "billions and billions of dollars are paid", which is not true either, because there is no money for pay money. is a captive of Russia because they provide (energy), they got rid of their coal plants, they got rid of their nuclear, they receive so much oil and gas from the Russia, I think it's something that NATO owes to. "- observations Wednesday.

THE FACTS: He's wrong about coal and nuclear energy and has exaggerated Germany's dependence on Russian natural gas.In 2017, Germany received more than one-third of its energy for electricity from coal and nearly 12 percent A third of the plants came from renewable energy Trump opposed Germany 's acceptance of a new pipeline project that will bring in more natural gas from Russia.

Germany plans to withdraw nuclear power plants by 2022 and intends to reduce its dependence on coal. is Germany has not "got rid" of one or the other.

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TRUMP: "One of the states we won, Wisconsin – I did not even realize it until recently – was the only state that Ronald Reagan did. did not win when he ran the table for the second time, he did not win Wisconsin and we won Wisconsin. "- press conference Thursday in Brussels

THE FACTS: Trump has already said this; it is not true. Reagan won Wisconsin in the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections.

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Associate writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report.

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