Trump reportedly provided a $200B invoice to Merkel for services rendered which she doesn't want to pay.
Trump reportedly gave Merkel a bill for unpaid NATO "dues"https://t.co/xFex2Dmj06— Axios (@axios) March 26, 2017
President Trump reportedly gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel an invoice for over £300 billion in what he deems to be owed contributions to NATO, per The Times of London.
Using 2002 as a starting point — the year Merkel's predecessor Gerhard Schröder pledged to increase defense spending — U.S. officials allegedly calculated the extent to which German defense spending had fallen short of the 2% of GDP target that NATO requires, added the amount together, and then charged interest.
Trump has also reportedly asked his staff to prepare similar calculations for all other NATO members below the 2% target.
If she doesn't pay, all Trump has to do is debit the Germany securities account at the US Fed for the $70B here to the credit of the TGA and tell them all to stick it sideways.
He would at least get that much back against the amount he views as in arrears for Germany as well as any other NATO member with a surplus USD balance identified here:
7 comments:
He's a businessman not a diplomat.....
"Government as firm....."
I'd like to see -- and Matt, thanks for posting -- Trump have the Fed debit Germany's account and credit Greece's :)
OK, true story. So true and recent because it happened less than 30 mins ago:
Setting: some street corner in a borough of Montreal.
So, I just stepped outside my father's house with my father and the dog for a nice walk. We're standing on the corner about to cross the street when we see a bunch of black suits approaching us. They're a good 20 meters away and my first impression is that they must be Mormons or something (what being Sunday and all). As I am about to turn around to avoid them, the tall guy in the middle raises his hand and says "Hi!" I look closely, and whom do I see? PM Justin Trudeau! "How are you doing?" he shouts. "Hey!" I go, waiving back and totally stunned. He was here in Montreal for the Greek Independence parade and he was passing by this borough to campaign because we're having a by-election here next week.... Immediately called the wife and daughter to come over (we live a few blocks away) and see the PM who was heading for the Liberal riding headquarters which was just on the next street. They came, saw him, waved, wife recorded the event ... and the first thing she said to me on the way home was how good looking he is even in person -- better looking than his father. Me, I couldn't get over how approachable he was. No way this could have happened in the States.
Greek Iirc Greece actually exceeds their defense obligations wrt NATO.. Don't tell Trump he might take you up on it...
Thank-you for sharing this story, lastgreek :)
"He's a businessman not a diplomat....."
Granted, he's certainly not a diplomat: that's been evident from the off. This, however, is stupidity. Reasonable people are going to assume that he's a dumb schmuck who makes up stupid shit, whether it's birtherism, Ted Cruz's father, locking up Killary, inauguration crowd sizes, Germany needing to hand over $200 billion in protection money to the capo dei capi. It's yet another own goal from the man who promised that the public will beg him to stop all the "winning". What more needs to be said?
Trump should concentrate on three things the public put him in office to do: job creation, tax cuts for the working and middle classes, and major infrastructure projects. That he's not going to deliver on any of these things is going to damage him BIGLY. The tax cuts to the richest and the social services cuts to the poorest are going to create even more problems.
This is a presidency that's already chaotic and will be in crisis before long. The public senses it, with ludicrous numbers of people now claiming that they did not vote for him! Perhaps all this chaos fits into Bannon's messed up view of government, but Trump needs to unfuck himself, to BIGLY unfuck himself, and to just stop saying stupid shit.
lastgreek, I was hoping for your wife to say that Trudeau looks handsome at a distance and that the closer you get the more hideously ugly he is. In any case, Trump is far more handsome. The reason Trump is an obese lumbering sack of fat and shit is clearly intentional: he would otherwise be just to irresistible if he were to lose a hundred pounds. All women would willingly shove his huge hands on to their craving pussies.
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