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Trump talks stupid all the time. That said, I agree that all NATO "partners" need to pay up and he is the only one that has pressed the point. Buncha dead beats that have sucked of the US teets for many years.

You really think he was ok with Russia just going into Poland for not contributing? BTW they contribute a higher % now than us…..after that speech.

What do I think?

I think NATO is a joke. I think our aid relief needs a complete overhaul.

I think our foreign policy is overreaching.

I think our government is out of touch and control and every agency not within the federal government’s enumerated powers needs permanently suspended until a revamp that aligns with the FG’s mandate power is reigned in.

I think no federal Senator or Congressman should live in DC. They should live in their district no exceptions.

I think Legislators and elected and non-permanent appointments should be granted NO benefits after leaving their position. It’s a service not an industry.

I also think that any state or federal political positions pay should be based off of a percentage of their districts average income.

Some of the people you’ve been sword fighting with in the cbid restroom known as the politics boards POSTED about stuff Cheeto Jesus did wrong on that thread you mentioned. I specifically mentioned him abusing Executive power using an agency to enforce a law that doesn’t exist. And when I did every response I got from the Anti Cheeto crowd was about Cheeto….well guess what. He was far from the worst about abusing Chevron Deference with government agencies whom CANNOT CREATE LAW but have been. But nobody wanted to talk about that. Abuse is abuse and pretending he’s new and this is the worst ever was and is a joke. I get why you’d post this and in a vacuum is a very logical and fair post. But I’m not of that same agreement with what and how things went with outside circumstances acted against Cheeto Jesus to hold him to a HIGHER standard?

First off we’re starting with a false equivalency because traditional politicians are groomed as are their personas. The very reason Cheeto Jesus was elected was a rejection of the norms. Now with that the establishment having a freak out reaction isn’t past reason. But with what happened people of all political stripes should be upset with what’s happened. And no I’m not going into it because if you don’t know by now there is literally no use in going through it.

8 years...Presidentin' Be Hard

4 years...ssshhhhhhh

almost 4 years...Presidentin' is the thing, you know, the thing


the dye is cast

Was NATO really created to help "allies" or was it created so the USA could put bases in European countries to protect our own interests?

Shouldn't NATO be a mutually beneficial relationship? It's been all USA and very little of anyone else until Trump called them on it.

If you've not paid your premiums... is the insurance company still obligated to pay your claims??

Good questions. My question remains the same.

Trump said what he said about not protecting underfunded NATO countries and the Russians can do whatever the hell they want to those countries.

Do you support Trumps position or not?

This thread certainly didn't age well.

As long as one side of any equation is obsessed with making the other side bend a knee there will never be peace. The side complying will simplify do so to live another day. In the interim they’ll recharge, replenish and reevaluate. At some point they will launch a new offensive aimed at their original goal.

Then you have those whose goal is to reach past glory. I think this is Putin’s vision. It seems he wants to be remembered for rebuilding the old USSR so anything short of that is failure and thus unacceptable.

NATO was created to confront both of these scenarios. Unfortunately, many member countries figured out that the USA would unilaterally fund NATO to meet its stated mission. It’s past time putting up with that nonsense.

If NATO didn’t exist and adversaries were allowed to take over it would no doubt affect our own national security. We are dependent on certain foreign goods that cannot be produced in the USA.

Well, Bosnia yes...Rwanda no.

Russia went into Poland WAY BEFORE NATO U DUMBOS...
LIKE 1945 WWII STUFF...

Do you agree with Trumps position on this? Let Russia do whatever the hell they want?

I disagree with his comment, I don’t support him.

Didn't they recently spend like a billion dollars on a new building to hang out in..??

Ya.. bassards...


prolly cause we're black...

Another callous, dangerous, stupid comment. No matter whether it gets NATO nations to pay in more, it should have been a private conversation without a threat of openly giving Putin a "green light." And, it should never have been made public before he is President. Without any doubt, we have a serious enough economic interests in NATO countries remaining free of Russian expansion. Take a look at the percentages of U.S. imports and exports involving NATO countries.

That’s why I said it should have remained behind closed doors. It absolutely should have been said but we should never know about it. I also think he was talking about something from back when he was president, not anything current. Trump’s complaint with NATO is nations routinely underfunded their own defense with the assumption that the USA would come to their defense.

The USA got reluctantly dragged into WW1. The USA reluctantly got dragged into WW2. The NATO assumption is that this time the USA will jump in at the first sign of trouble for WW3.

It’s a bit more complicated than do I support his statement.
I laid that out…

Do you think Putin took said statement in the way you’re perceiving it? I sure don’t….

I can't tell and wouldn't guess at what Putin is thinking, other than he smells weakness like a vicious dog.
You can tell me it is more complex and you can filibuster answering for as long as you like.

You either support Trumps statement or you don't.

Am a little surprised (not a whole lot) that some of you don't want to take a stand on these things. So much easier to tear down Biden than make a clear statement, based of Trumps words, on whether you support his statement or not.

(I'll make believe this is the spot where you are going to still not answer the question and point to things that Biden has said that blah, blah, blah, blah. blah.)

Covid?

NATO countries have been screwing US taxpayers for years.

I recall Admiral Zumwalt saying something like, If the US reduced our defense spending NATO countries will assume everything is so good they can reduce defence spending and if the US increased defense spending they will assume everything is so good they can reduce defense spending.

Well stay upset at him 8, you’re being a good voter.

Like DMV said that thread didn’t age well.

I’ve been here since W was in office and when engaged in these conversations I try to keep the filter of my time here with the responses of the past and present in mind.

Keep pressing us unworthy voters with poisoned questions, you either get the answer you want to justify your stance or claim high ground for being more intellectually honest by answering your question.

nope.
Holocaust.

Probably no one will hafta send anyone if Russia/Trump aren't able to end the resistance.

Remember how they sold the nuke as the ultimate peace weapon. When was the last time you heard sirens telling you to duck and cover, or not to eat snow cuz Russian "fall-out" was in it?

Decades.

Poison questions? More like a poison candidate. Wondered where your line and others would be. Didn’t take long. HD gave the most comprehensive answer. He answered and explained his Yes Answer. MACS didn’t answer it as much, saying he was interested in the context the words were spoken. He hasn’t followed up.


You guys are smart enough to pick either Yes I agree with Trump because….. or No, I don’t agree with Trump because….

You and DMV are working the filibuster and non answer routes, which is the most disappointing of all. Like your burning out your clutch while applying the gas. Like cyborgs waiting for their Cheeto programmer to tell you what to say.

For two decades (a little less so in the last year or so) I thought of you two as being authentic, American originals. Instead of three, it’s become two dimensional personas.

Trump good
Biden bad

You are both better than that.

I disagree with what Rapey McFraud said about NATO. It was reckless and dangerous, with no real value.

As for the comments that say he was kidding when he says things like he did about grabbing ****, let’s not forget that he was found guilty of doing just that and fined for continuing to publicly lie about it. Yes, the court ruled he did it. It’s just true. When he said it he meant it because he had done it. One proved in court, but likely part of his lifestyle based on the accusations routinely dismissed in here that would never be dismissed for slick Willy.

Some in here, conveniently haven’t read the actual cases because it’s easier to listen to what people tell them to say or they simply can’t understand the cases. And that is being kind.

There is no way for anybody with any intellectual integrity to be OK with what he said, cute deflections aside.You can be against NATO, you may want the NATO partners to pay more, but what he said was absolutely irresponsible for anybody who could remotely be close to power If you are OK with it, you are not be a Republican. Certainly not a Reagan Republican. You are a RINO like Trump.

If you say, you want to see the actual comments in context, but haven’t been able to do so you are either really dumb or really lazy. And you know it

It used to be cute when people defended the rapist by saying oh, he’s just being him, and he talks differently Now it is dangerous and shows a high-level of ignorance. Unfortunately, sometimes that ignorance is intentional.

Facts are hell of a drug. Choosing not to recognize them doesn’t make you any less fucked up, It just means you have no chance of recovery.

I am Farticus!

Outgoing Dutch PM tells Europe to stop 'whining and nagging about Trump'
Trump came under fire this week for saying the U.S. would not honor its NATO commitments
By Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, Feb 17, 2024

Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who is likely to be the next secretary-general of NATO, urged fellow European leaders to stop "whining" about former President Trump.

The blunt admonition comes days after the GOP 2024 front-runner suggested the U.S. should not honor its NATO commitments if European countries do not increase their defense contribution to the North Atlantic alliance. Trump's comments sparked outrage throughout Europe and provoked an immediate condemnation from President Biden's White House.

"We should stop moaning and whining and nagging about Trump," Rutte said Saturday at the Munich Security Conference.

"It's up to the Americans. I'm not an American, I cannot vote in the U.S. We have to work with whoever is on the dance floor," he added.

He also said it was in the continent's interests to increase support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion.

Rutte is the front-runner to succeed NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, who will step down in October, according to Reuters. He has said he would not campaign for the job.

Stoltenberg was among those who lambasted Trump's comments this week, stating that the forme president's rhetoric "undermines" the security of its members.

"The whole idea of NATO is that an attack on one ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance, and as long as we stand behind that message together, we prevent any military attack on any ally," Stoltenberg said at a press conference Wednesday.

He continued, "Any suggestion that we are not standing up for each other, that we are not going to protect each other, that does undermine the security of all of us."

The warning came after Trump offered harsh words for NATO allies at a campaign rally last week, going so far as to suggest that the U.S. would not defend NATO allies that do not contribute their full share.

Trump recalled a conversation he had with the president "of a big country," who he says asked him if they did not increase their defense contribution to the North Atlantic alliance "and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?"

"NATO was busted until I came along," Trump said. "I said, ‘Everybody’s gonna pay.' They said, ‘Well, if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?' I said, 'Absolutely not.' They couldn't believe the answer."

While Stoltenberg expressed concern at Trump's remarks, the former president's comment did spark a rush to confirm member countries' contributions in the coming year.

The NATO chief announced that 18 of the alliance's 31 members are on track to meet their pledges of contributing 2% of GDP to the group. European states are on track to contribute $380 billion this year, and Germany will meet its 2% pledge for the first time since the Cold War.

Rutte suggested that focusing on Trump's comments only serves to distract from supporting Ukraine and meeting NATO's commitments.

"And all that whining and moaning about Trump. I hear that constantly over the last couple of days. Let's stop doing that," Rutte said, adding that after talking with U.S. politicians in Munich he was "cautiously optimistic" that Congress will pass the national security supplemental package with funding for Ukraine.