Angela Merkel's White House Visit Was Way More Awkward Than We Knew

[babylonsister]

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a54130/trump-merkel-nato/

Angela Merkel's White House Visit Was Way More Awkward Than We Knew

This is not how you conduct diplomacy.

Getty
By Peter Wade
Mar 26, 2017


Just when you thought German chancellor Angela Merkel's visit couldn't have been any worse, it has been recently reported that President Donald Trump actually printed out an invoice for $374 billion—money Trump believes Germany owes to NATO, with interest—and handed it to Merkel during their closed doors meeting, The Sunday Times reported.

This is embarrassing for so many reasons. First, it's just plain rude to invite a guest into your home and then hand them a bill. Emily Post must have written a chapter on this somewhere.

Furthermore, this is simply not how NATO defense funding works.

According to CNN, NATO sets a target for how much countries should spend on their own defense forces, the theory being that if all NATO countries have a strong defense, it will benefit all members. Currently the target for spending is 2% of a country's gross domestic product. Germany currently spends 1.2% of GDP on defense while the United States spends 3.61%. Only the U.S., Britain, Estonia, Poland, and Greece actually exceed 2% GDP defense spending.

But 2% is merely a guideline, and the money does not go to NATO as Trump seems to believe. It just means that Germany is spending 0.8% less of its GDP on its own defense, so even if Germany technically "owes" $374 billion in defense spending, it owes those funds to Germany's armed forces, not NATO. Trump basically handed Merkel a bill stating that she owes herself money.

"The president has a very unorthodox view on NATO defense spending," a source told the Times. "The alliance is not a club with a membership fee. The commitments relate to countries' investment in their defense budgets."

Unorthodox is one way to put it. Crazy is another. It's going to be a long four years, folks.

[jaysunb]

1. I'll take "crazy" for 200, Sis. n/t

[MurrayDelph]

17. What

is "Batshit," Alex?

[jaysunb]

33. LOL ! n/t

[Beartracks]

2. Our so-called president is an ignoramus. n/t

[NastyRiffraff]

3. I'm embarrassed for our country

We have an ignoramus thug in the White House.

[SummerSnow]

4. What a dumb fool

[ProudLib72]

5. WTF?

No words. WTF?

[Motley13]

6. Angela, make that check out to Donald J Trump & you will be off the hook

I'm just a little short with Pootie.



She is the leader of the free world & soooo far superior to putz.
How great Angela & Hillary would have been.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. Angela can always give Trump a bill for our military bases in Germany.

Water and utilities, if nothing else.

[Turbineguy]

7. There's a difference between

NATO and Country Club.

[doc03]

8. So Trump accuses Germany of not holding up their share of military spending

then proposes robbing $64 billion from the American people for more military spending. My question is why should they
spend more money when they have a dumbass
like Trump in the WH?

[samnsara]

9. how can we apologize to that poor woman

[doc03]

11. By impeaching that fool nt

[calimary]

26. IMPEACH!!! Besides, that way, it doesn't have to be a long four years.

And yes, I know that means pResident Pence, but either way, both their "terms" would be short, quite truncated, and marked by turmoil. I doubt Pence would get much done, either.

Then we could wipe away the stain of BOTH of them in 2020.

[elias7]

12. he makes me puke

[shenmue]

13. Merkel is a moderate and would be a much better prez than tRump

[mwooldri]

19. Merkel is a Christian Democrat. Literally.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Democratic_Union_of_Germany

She is the current chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union - nominally a right of center political party. Though comparing the CDUs politics to the Republican Party would be unfair... they don't pair up well even though both are considered to be right of center on the political spectrum. CDU would be considered in American terms more to be a blue dog Democrat on social issues and more of a progressive Democrat on fiscal issues.

[shenmue]

31. Okay, thanks

[tammywammy]

14. It's supposed to be 2% of GDP by 2024.

[Horse with no Name]

15. especially from a clod that doesn't pay his personal bills

what a dolt.

[iluvtennis]

16. Trump asked Merkel to pay the US some $375 billion "owed" for past protection of Germany...

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

----
WTF...what an asswipe Dumpty is. GAH

[Volaris]

18. There's no way this stunt wasn't Bannons idea.

His ONLY overlying principal is create as much chaos as you can, and then in the confusion start setting things on fire.

I weep for the career and professional staff at the State Department. To have to spend half their workdays not only under orders to do nothing useful, they have to spend the other half cleaning up after the stray worthless dogs that keeps shitting on their lawn now. I cannot imagine how embarrassed these people must be to have to keep going to work and trying to keep things even-keel with their foreign counterparts.

Steve Bannon is the worst of the Deplorables. I really REALLY want to see his fatass swing from a rope. Not even anyone from the Jr administration made me feel this way.

[RedSpartan]

20. Ich bin ein Asshole

http://thisamericancarnageblog.com/ich-bin-ein-asshole/

[TNNurse]

21. I have no idea the status of any country's payments to NATO.

Even if they were that far behind, WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS TO GIVE THAT TO ANYONE????????

DOES HE THINK HE RUNS NATO? IS HE REALLY THAT STUPID (AND I DO NOT MEAN IGNORANT, BUT STUPID)???????

[Raine1967]

22. This is something I expect from a White Nationalist Admin:

Tell the victims of a genocide they have to pay up.

Has he pulled this bullshit stunt with any other country?

Probably not.

He did this to GERMANY. That is not lost on me.

[tblue37]

23. Idiot Cheato knows less than Jon Snow! nt

[grantcart]

24. Wouldn't it be funny if she turned to him and asked if he would validate her parking.

[JCat]

25. Im Deustch

Herr Dummkopf!

[gopiscrap]

27. she should have looked at him and said

Du bist ein scheisskauf

[eppur_se_muova]

28. Well, now we know what a degree in accounting from Trump University is worth ... nt

[emmadoggy]

29. OMG. No words.

Deplorably shameful.

[enid602]

30. irony

Traditionally, Germany has been urged NOT to spend heavily on defense, given the excesses of a previous fascist regime. I hope our little foray into fascism doesn't leave us in the same boat.

[Kath2]

32. I'm sure she was stunned and insulted.

She is far more intelligent than Trump. And I'm sure she has better manners.

She's a former research scientist with a doctorate in physical chemistry.

I am absolutely ashamed of this idiot in the White House.

[jmowreader]

34. She's also muscular enough to beat Donald Trump into a bloody pulp

And after being handed a $375 billion invoice because Donald Fucking Trump thinks the Germans aren't doing enough to support NATO, no one would have blamed her if she had.