.png?w=94&crop=1:1)
“Well I think we have a lot of foes — I think the European Union is a foe — what they do to us in trade,” Trump said. “Now, you wouldn’t think of the European Union, but they’re a foe.”
.@POTUS on why EU is a foe: "Both my parents were born in EU sectors... And, you know, I love those countries. I respect the leaders of those countries, but in a trade sense, they've really taken advantage of us, and many of those countries are in NATO." https://cbsn.ws/2KWsJ9g
Trump’s argument that the European Union is America’s most significant foe appears to be centered around his baseless belief that the EU is taking advantage of the U.S. in trade. "I respect the leaders of those countries,” he stated. “But, in a trade sense, they've really taken advantage of us and many of those countries are in NATO and they weren't paying their bills.”
Trump has previously exaggerated the total trade deficit numbers with the European Union to fit his misguided narrative. Meanwhile, his criticisms of countries in NATO failing to pay their fair share is yet another example of Trump providing fake news to support his shaky argument.
Trump did manage to rope China and Russia into his remarks about America’s foes, but defended their inclusion as being “competitive,” and not necessarily based on being bad countries. “Russia is a foe in certain respects. China is a foe economically, certainly they are a foe,” he continued. “But that doesn’t mean they are bad. It doesn’t mean anything. It means that they are competitive.”
With Trump set to have a closed-door meeting with Russia President Vladimir Putin on Monday, it’s clear that The Donald is creating a larger divide between us and our true allies while getting closer with the leader of the same country that meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
