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



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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump upset things at every turn of his trip to Europe, making statements about NATO, Britain, Germany and others who were supposed to provoke, and they did it. The accuracy was not always the hallmark of these statements

A week in review:

TRUMP: "I did not criticize the prime minister." – Press conference on Friday with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

He criticized it

. In an interview with the British newspaper Sun, he complained loudly of his approach to pulling Britain out of the European Union and hinted that she was not respecting the will of voters who were demanding this measure in a Referendum 2016 May proposes to maintain some commercial and economic links which, according to Trump, should be broken.

"I would have done differently," he said in the interview. "I told Theresa May how to do it but she did not agree, she did not listen to me." She wanted to go a different way, I would even say that. she's probably gone in the opposite direction.And that's fine.She should negotiate the best way she knows how.But it's too bad what's happening. […] The agreement that She concluded is very different from the one on which people voted. "

He went so far as to say that if Britain remains partially economically integrated with the EU," that would probably end "Then he backed off at the press conference, telling him that" everything you do is OK with me "and that he planned to complete a" bilateral trade agreement " with the United States ".Great bilateral trade agreement with the UK.This is an amazing opportunity for our two countries and we will seize it full "

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TRUMP, speaking on Friday after a NATO summit marked by its burning rhetoric and crowned by a controversial emergency meeting:" There were many FACTS: It does not appear that Trump's NATO partners have felt the love.

Despite attempts to mitigate differences, Trump continues to cast doubts on 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 restored by a new commitment. NATO partners to increase military spending to ease pressure on the US budget. "Many people were surprised that NATO was meeting in the end," he said. But European leaders said that they simply agreed to continue doing what they did – raising military spending under a 2014 target of spending 2% of their national product Gross Defense at 2024.

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TRUMP, in Sun Interview: "I cut a ribbon for the opening of Turnberry – you know that they totally did all a renovation, it's beautiful – the eve of the Brexit vote.I said, the Brexit will come in. The vote will be positive, because people do not want to be confronted with the horrific problems of the Brexit. immigration they face in other countries. "

THE 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 will see everything, but there have been no missile tests, there has been no research where there has been. blew up a site.I heard that they were blowing up another missile site. "- Press conference on Thursday in Brussels

FACTS: North Korea did not said that she had blown up launch sites. Before the summit, he destroyed something else – his test site for underground nuclear explosions. The journalists witnessed the demolition of three tunnels and neighboring buildings. The site may have already been compromised by the first nuclear explosions and its destruction was one of several steps that would be needed 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 its commitment. levels they have never thought of before. "And," I can tell you now that NATO is now a very well tuned machine.People pay for money that they do not have. Have never paid before, they are happy to do it, and the United States is treated much more equitably. "- Press conference in Brussels on Thursday

THE FACTS: There is no from outside sign that Trump's aggressive posture has changed something for the alliance other than challenging his unity. The members had already agreed in 2014 to stop reducing their military budgets and set themselves the goal of "spending" 2% of their gross domestic product for their own defense by 2024.

Wednesday, Trump kicked off the summit by calling for NATO Members must more than double their military budget, suggesting a new benchmark that would allow them to spend 4% of their economy on defense. (NATO estimates that the US spends about 3.5% of its GDP on its military budget this year.)

But on Thursday, French, German and Italian leaders did not support the assertion from Trump that he allegedly ripped off new concessions. the alliance on their military spending. "I said we know we have to do more and 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 that 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 was paying a great deal, probably 90% of the time. costs of NATO. "- Press conference in Brussels.

FACTS: Not true. The US military budget compromises about 70% of military spending of all NATO member states, not 90% – and this concerns global military commitments, not just Europe.

NATO has a largely administrative budget of about $ 3 billion. certain civil and military costs. The share of the United States 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 made Wednesday during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

TRUMP: "Many NATO countries, which we are supposed to defend, are not only short of their current commitment of 2% (which is low), but are also late 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.

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

spend less than 2% of their GDP in their defense budget, although others are moving in this direction.

Trump attacked NATO members such as Germany for lagging behind their military budgets. . He has repeatedly stated that "because of his pressure," billions and billions of dollars are flowing ", which is not true either, because there are no funds to pay money.

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TRUMP: "Germany is a captive of Russia because they supply (energy) They got rid of their coal-fired power plants They got rid of their nuclear power. Russia's oil and gas .I think it's something that NATO must look into. "- [Traduit de l'anglais]

THE FACTS: It's wrong on coal and nuclear energy and has overestimated Germany's dependence on Russian natural gas. In 2017, Germany received more than a third of its energy for electricity from coal and almost 12 percent of nuclear power plants. A third came from renewable energy. Trump objected to Germany's acceptance of a new pipeline project that will bring more natural gas from Russia.

Germany plans to withdraw its nuclear power plants by 2022 and intends to reduce its dependence on coal. But 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 – it was the only state that Ronald Reagan did not win when he ran the board his second time, he did not win Wisconsin, and we won Wisconsin. "- Press Conference Thursday in Brussels

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

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

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EDITOR'S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of the claims of political figures

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