‘He’s Right’: Polish Foreign Minister Tells MSNBC He Agrees With Trump That Europe Is Not Spending ‘Fair Share’ on Defense
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told MSNBC on Wednesday that he agreed with former President Donald Trump that NATO countries in Europe were not paying their “fair share” for defense.
During an interview with Sikorski on her show Andrea Mitchell Reports, MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell asked, “What would you say to Donald Trump who actually said that he would encourage Putin to go into countries, NATO countries that don’t pay their fair share?”
The Polish foreign minister replied, “Well we hope that’s just flowery rhetoric. He’s right that we should be spending more in Europe. Poland is spending well over 3% of GDP on defense and we’ve placed $50 billion worth of defense orders in the United States.”
Mitchell then went on to ask, “Donald Trump is ahead in the polls in America right now. It’s going to be a very tight election. How worried are you about what the next American presidency could mean in terms of Poland’s security and NATO?”
“Poland wants to have excellent relationship with the United States irrespective of who is in charge here. President Biden, of course, is a transatlanticist,” responded Sikorski. “But America has interests to do with credibility. You know, when the U.S. has spoken that Kiev will be defended, if that were not acted upon, it would be noticed by allies around the globe. So I hope the U.S. will help the Ukrainians because they are defending themselves, they just need the means to do so.”
Last month, Trump received backlash after he said his administration would refuse to defend NATO countries that have failed to meet the minimum targets for spending on defense.
Trump revealed that he had told a European leader, “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.” And the money came flowing in!
The remark was condemned by Trump’s former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who said Trump had “invited Russia to attack those countries that weren’t living up to their commitments.”
Watch above via MSNBC.
