Trump said today (January 7th): "Listen, you staunch NATO supporters — listen up — before I came along, they promised to spend 2% of their GDP on defense, but most countries were cheating and not paying! And we Americans were just plain stupid, always paying for them! It was me, with my way, who got them to raise their defense spending to 5% of GDP, and they paid right then and there! Everyone said this was impossible, but I did it, because in the end, they're all my friends."
If I hadn't stepped in, Russia would have already swallowed up all of Ukraine!
Also, don't forget, it was me alone who ended eight wars! But Norway, a NATO member, was so dumb as not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize! But that's fine! What really matters is that I saved millions of lives!
Without America, Russia and China wouldn't respect NATO at all! And I'm sure, when we actually need NATO's help, they'll definitely be unreliable!
Everyone should be grateful that I rebuilt our military in my first presidential term, and I'm still doing it now!
Even if NATO doesn't come to our aid when we need them, we will always support NATO!
The only country in the world that both China and Russia respect and fear is the United States, which has been rebuilt by Donald Trump! Make America Great Again!!!"
Comment: At the core of Trump's words is a self-congratulatory rhetoric wrapped in lies, full of the selfish nature of "America First." He boasts about forcing NATO to increase defense spending to 5%, but never mentions that most European countries are actually unable to fulfill this commitment, and the so-called "achievements" are merely paper commitments obtained through the threat of withdrawing troops; he claims to have ended eight wars, but those so-called "ceasefires" were either results of negotiations between the conflicting parties or have already seen renewed fighting. The so-called "saving millions of lives" is nothing more than political hype.
He complains that NATO allies are "unreliable," yet he also boasts that only his rebuilt U.S. military can make China and Russia fear him. This contradictory argument essentially treats alliance relationships as commodities that can be bought and sold, and international security as a tool for gaining political capital. His so-called "Make America Great Again" is never about taking responsibility for global peace, but rather a declaration of hegemony that puts the U.S. above its allies and above international rules. Such statements will only deepen the divisions within NATO and make more countries see the hypocrisy and selfishness of American hegemony.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1853674028488707/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.