CNN’s Table For Five Pundits Laugh At Trump’s NATO Rescue Suggestion
CNN’s Table For Five pundits laughed when discussing President Donald Trump’s repeated demand that NATO countries come to the rescue of the United States from the war with Iran by opening the Strait of Hormuz themselves.
“We’re not the ones being most impacted by it in the United States,” said former Republican congressman Peter Meijer in defense of Trump. “And I think this gets to the frustration with Europe’s ambivalence and/or negativity is, at the end of the day, the free movement of goods that the U.S. has facilitated.”
Democratic pundit Van Jones interjected, “What would you want the Europeans to do? What would you want the Europeans to do right now that the United States can’t do? The United States, the biggest, most powerful military in the history of humanity, can’t open up the strait —”
“I would love for them to look out for their own interests,” Meijer clapped back.
“And you think the Swedes will — You think the Swedes are going to open up the —”
“No, the Swedes are doing a great job, actually,” Meijer said.
“Don’t bring the Swedes into this,” host Abby Phillip joked.
“The Swedes are wonderful!” Meijer exclaimed. “I love the Swedes. They. They joined NATO after centuries of neutrality because they recognized —”
“You want the Irish to open up the port?” Jones added.
“So, the Swedes actually, they have a global ranking of democracy and they officially put us on the ‘Not a functioning democracy’ list just about two weeks ago,” said former Obama official Nayyera Haq. “So the Swedes have a lot to say about what the United States is doing.”
“I did not have the Swedes on my bingo card today,” Phillip quipped.
Haq continued, “This was a war of choice the United States instigated, and the United States is actually economically going to be impacted when it comes to farming cycles and fertilizer prices, other inputs, but not the direct energy challenge. So, Europe is looking at this like, ‘You are telling us to come and rescue you from a war that you essentially started. And we’re the ones now suffering the most.'”
“We don’t need the rescue,” Meijer pushed back. “If the concern is the Strait of Hormuz, that is an international problem.”
Haq cited Trump’s primetime address to the nation, saying, “He called on NATO. He is asking multiple other countries to jump in and help because this is an economic crisis. The United States jumped into a war and now does not have an easy path out, other than declaring victory and then just walking away.”
Watch above via CNN.
New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!
Comments
↓ Scroll down for comments ↓