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BRUSSELS – The NATO summit was on track on Thursday as European leaders welcomed their unruly US counterpart behaving in a surprisingly good, if not really conciliatory way. Their planes were gassed at the airport, and they were ready to call the entire shebang a success and a home greeting.
Then President Trump arrived half an hour late and with another agenda. He actually took a meeting on Georgia and Ukraine by speaking and, one by one, scolding and humiliating countries for their defense spending.
Trump was on such a tear that some diplomats said he feared he could withdraw from the United States of NATO, breaking the existing world order. For more than an hour, the transatlantic alliance was caught in the chaos of Trump – until the president called an impromptu press conference to announce that all was well, in fact.
"I believe in NATO," Trump said. He called the alliance a "perfected machine," pointing out that "there was a great unity, a great spirit, a great esprit de corps. "
Thursday's events in Brussels were an iconic Trump show, with other presidents and prime ministers cast as actors in his drama Trump was unpredictable and unreliable – he was direct and sometimes rude to partners America's history, vague on the bottom and deceptive with facts and figures.It drew attention to itself, sending all Western alliance to hurry to satisfy his whims and his desires – "whiplash", in the words of an assistant diplomat.
And he declared an unprecedented victory
Emmanuel Macron, President of France, makes a gesture in expressing at a press conference at the NATO summit in Brussels (Marlene Awaad / Bloomberg)
NATO member countries pledged in 2014 to devote 2% each of their own gross domestic product in defense by 2024. Trump asserted Without specificity, having obtained expenditure increases France and Italy stated that the pre-existing commitments had not changed.
"This perfectly illustrates his approach to diplomacy, which is again and again, gives a little and takes a lot," said Douglas Lute, a former ambassador to the United States. L & # 39; NATO. "Complete unpredictability .I guess it thinks it's generating some leverage, but it actually gives uncertainty and doubt.Its impact on the alliance is quite severe." "
[ Trump asserts that allies make new defense spending commitments after his NATO summit]
Several officials who were in the room when Trump magnified the exhausted temperature after. We let out a thrill of the whole body. Another, a long nervous laugh.
In Thursday's session, while Trump requisitioned the conversation, he reprimanded and harassed individual leaders about defense spending. He had figures ready, indicating that his aggression was orchestrated. And, in comments open to interpretation, Trump told his counterparts that they were not meeting their 2% goals by January so he would "do his own thing," according to two informed officials of the meeting.
Press conference on the second day of the NATO summit in Brussels. (Christian Bruna / Epa-Efe / Rex / Shutterstock / Christian Bruna / Epa-Efe / Rex / Shutterstock)
At one point, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tried to calm his tirade and promote unity at within the alliance.
"No, we are not playing this game," said Trump, according to an official who was present. "Other presidents have done that, but I will not do it."
As might be expected, Trump's actions sparked consternation within the US foreign policy establishment. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) Called the president's performance "disappointing, but ultimately not surprising."
"There is no point in analyzing the inaccuracies and blusteriness of the president except to say that these are the words of a man." McCain said in a statement.
Trump sees his disturbance abroad as a political advantage at home, officials said. As he was leaving Brussels and browsing Twitter, reading headlines and watching news coverage by cable in the United States, Trump saw an advantage: the president was represented as a fighter for America and hitting heads in the United States. old Europe. For Trump, his advisers say that there is no benefit to traveling overseas and playing well.
Thus, on Wednesday, he excoriated Germany for being "captive" in Russia and suddenly invited the NATO countries to double their defense commitments. The gross domestic product, then Thursday sent leaders into an emergency session, the spirit of Trump was as much centered on his supporters at his "Make America Great Again" campaign rallies as on any bureaucrat in the country. brilliant seat of NATO.
"Trump voters see this as an issue of fairness," said Jason Miller, a former Trump campaign advisor. "You have the elite of the ivory tower who thinks you should continue to do things exactly the same way and this should be accepted as a fact.This is why people l & # 39; 39, love, that he does not do that. "
[ The Correction: Trump puts his hand on his thinking about Putin]
Kellyanne Conway, advisor to the president, compared the actions of Trump to NATO at his decision to relocate the United States Embassy to Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
"It's like with Jerusalem," Conway said. "You have decades of presidents – right, left and center – speaking this way and gently pushing for 2 percent.You have this president doing something about it."
Trump came to the top ready to jostle his Allies, but undecided about how he would do it, according to a senior White House official.An idea was to threaten to cut US defense spending to match the first European country. initiative to double the commitments on defense spending to levels never reached by the United States, but it was rather to "change the conversation," said a counselor, even though it was forcing Other allies to
Before the trip, Trump complained to the advisers of how some countries were choosing to divert their defense budgets. </ p> <p> Germany, in particular, became angry because of the money that it he spends on assimilating migrants, who flocked to the nation during a crisis in 2015. He complained that allies are paying for the $ 1.4 billion cost of the NATO building, but not for their military. It was derisory of any organization, an official said.
But only a part of that led to day one of the summit, officials said. Although he lambasted Germany during a breakfast with Stoltenberg, he was polite – even conventional – at subsequent meetings throughout the day, leading European leaders to believe that They had ducked everything that was expected from a controversial meeting. From other leaders and their spouses, Trump was on "an excruciatingly good behavior," said a participant. He spent the evening boasting press participation during his recent summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to a second participant. This official said that Trump told his counterparts that he had recently called golfer Jack Nicklaus to boast: "They have 1000 cameras at the Oscars, and we had 6000 cameras in Singapore." The buzz was fantastic. "[19659027] Officials said their nerves were frightened by Trump's erratic performance – and that was perhaps exactly the goal. "19659029" He goes after Germany, then he looks happy at dinner, and he is acting like he wants to end NATO, then he says how great NATO is and loves NATO, "said a foreign official who attended the summit. "No one has any idea what he's really going to do, and I feel like he likes it that way."
[As Trump rattles NATO, 42 percent of Germans now want U.S. troops out of the country]
Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg Prime Minister, said that Trump had been in a good mood at dinner. But he reminded reporters that Trump had wireless internet on Air Force One, so he could change his tune on Twitter.
Asked his press conference if he could attack NATO on Twitter after renting it to the pulpit – as he often did after similar meetings – Trump has said, "No, it's other people who do that. I do not. I am very coherent. I am a very stable genius. "
Stephen K. Bannon, former Trump White House strategist who has been to London this week to meet with far-right nationalists who are campaigning to break up the European Union, said that Trump "done"
"They all have these happy speeches and defend positions that math simply do not support," said Bannon.
Here at NATO, Stoltenberg and other officials have said that the disruption – like sweat – inducing as it may have been for Washington's allies – may be as salutary in dismissing leaders of closely related discussion points that are ritual for this type of meeting. "19659035" Without pre-written manuscripts, "says Stoltenberg," we have all developed a better understanding of the challenges, the urgency of spending more. "
Atlantic Council President, Frederick Kempe, after helping to host a range of Western leaders at a secondary forum, said Trump" decided to declare victory, but this is not the case. is that after winding twists along the way. "
Dawsey reported from London.
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