What does a Donald Trump do after a long week of being a good boy? He pees himself after shoving the calm headed boy on the playground. LOL! No, but wouldn’t that be delightful ?
When you are Donald Trump and you’ve managed to receive a bit of praise for sticking to the script for the most part of your trip abroad, you go on Twitter and post nonsensical alternative facts.
God knows that man is a case – as we Nigerians will put it.
Yesterday, he took to his Twitter to brag about what he considers his positive impact as far as the 68 year old, 28 member North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
Many NATO countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in- NATO will be much stronger.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2017
Only problem, as we have found, is that this is nothing for Trump to brag about. It is a factual error to say money is beginning to “pour in”. As USA Today’s Fact Check simply puts it, “it isn’t”. And we’ll get to why shortly.
Earlier, while giving a speech to U.S troops he met in Sicily on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Trump said:
“I will tell you, a big difference over the last year, money is actually starting to pour into NATO from countries that would not have been doing what they’re doing now had I not been elected, I can tell you that. Money is starting to pour in.”
There, Trump (asides lying about money pouring in) tried to take credit for something that has been factually proven has nothing to do with his election as POTUS.
[In Case you missed it: Watch Trumps’ NATO Speech]
The facts
NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance of 28 North American and European countries under the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty. All member countries “agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.”
It operates based on the thought process that “an attack against one or more members is considered an attack against all”. And as this CNN Money report states, that ideal has only been invoked once and it was in response to the 9/11 attacks.
As such, if there was any need for badgering countries over NATO “contributions”, America wouldn’t be the one to do it; complaining about wasting taxpayers’ money towards NATO.
Ivana Kottasová wrote: “To make the idea [of NATO] work, it is important for all members to make sure their armed forces are in good shape. So NATO sets an official target on how much they should spend. That currently stands at 2% of GDP. The 2% target is described as a guideline. There is no penalty for not meeting it.”
“Apart from administrative expenses” NATO countries do not pay directly to the organisation, nor do they owe the U.S.A any direct dues. So it’s quite literally impossible for money to “pour in”.
What Trump seems to be getting wrong (or has intentionally decided to muddle up) is the issue of what each member state spends from its budget on defence.
Which leads to the second alternative fact that must be checked. NATO members, by their own agreement, “are required to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defence”. But this agreement was reached in 2014. Not because Trump became President. Not because of his constant badgering of the countries. And certainly not because of Thursday’s meeting in Brussels.
Besides, only about 5 States are already making good on their pre-Trump pledge. So again, money wouldn’t be pouring in even if it were possible.
Creative mind. Enthusiast. Learner. Multipotentialite. And here, an assistant editor.
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