Trump Blasts Out Statement About Himself at End of Zelensky Speech: ‘I Acted, and Acted Strongly’
MANDEL NGAN/AFP
Former President Donald Trump released a statement Wednesday morning that insisted “I acted, and acted strongly.”
The statement came minutes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received thunderous applause from U.S. Congress following his address and insistence that his efforts to stave off any Russian military attacks need more support from the United States.
Trump appeared to be focused more on reminding his audience that he was the one that “20 out of 28 delinquent NATO countries to start paying the money that they owed in order to rebuild a floundering NATO.” People seem to also forget that the Trump administration withheld roughly $400 million worth of congressionally approved military aid because, as they explained at the time, they were concerned that Zelenksy’s government was corrupt.
Then White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney defended the alleged “quid pro quo” surrounding the Trump administration’s withholding Ukrainian military aid amid the Russian threat as something that happens all the time.
Of course, the discussions with Zelensky surrounding military aid and Trump’s request to do him a favor and look into any corruption surrounding Joe Biden is what led Trump to his first impeachment.
Trump insisted that he was not “tearing down NATO” as he blasted “Fake News commentators” as saying and that they should be “ashamed of themselves for telling lies.”
He then blasted previous administrations, adding “Bush and Obama did nothing but make speeches and talk—I acted, and acted strongly. I said to them, ‘if you don’t pay up, no protection,'” which sounds eerily similar to a mafia transaction but I’m sure that’s only a coincidence.
Read Trump’s full statement below.
People forget so quickly, with the help of the Fake News, that it was me that got the 20 out of 28 delinquent NATO countries to start paying the money that they owed in order to rebuild a floundering NATO. Nobody knew things would happen so rapidly, but NATO was poor and now it is rich, and all of the Fake News commentators that said Trump was tearing down NATO should be ashamed of themselves for telling lies. Not only was the United States being taken advantage of by the EU on trade, but it was forced to pay the costs of the many delinquent NATO countries. Bush and Obama did nothing but make speeches and talk—I acted, and acted strongly. I said to them, “if you don’t pay up, no protection.” They all paid up, and paid up quickly. It’s a story that’s never reported, but that’s only because we have a corrupt press in our Country!
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