President Trump's claim 'billions and billions' are 'pouring into NATO' because of his admin

President Trump’s claim ‘billions and billions’ are ‘pouring into NATO’ because of his administration

By Michelle Ye Hee Lee July 12 at 3:00 AM

“Americans know that a strong alliance of free, sovereign and independent nations is the best defense for our freedoms and for our interests. That is why my administration has demanded that all members of NATO finally meet their full and fair financial obligation. As a result of this insistence, billions of dollars more have begun to pour into NATO. In fact, people are shocked. But billions and billions of dollars more coming in from countries that, in my opinion, would not have been paying so quickly.”

–President Trump, speech in Warsaw, July 6, 2017

-snip-

The Facts

Trump started making this claim when he ad-libbed it in his maiden speech to Congress at the end of February — a month into his presidency. “I can tell you the money is pouring in. Very nice,” he said, mentioning he was pressing NATO allies in “very frank and strong discussions.” As we noted at the time, this is nonsensical.

NATO was established in the aftermath of World War II. It began with 12 members in a defense alliance among Western European countries, the United States and Canada to counter the Soviet Union and its satellite countries in Eastern Europe (known as the Warsaw Pact). After the Soviet Union collapsed and the Warsaw Pact unraveled, NATO expanded to include many Eastern European nations and even former parts of the Soviet Union. There are now 28 member countries in NATO.

There are two types of funding for NATO: direct and indirect. Direct contributions are shared among the 29 member states to pay for the costs of the actual alliance (for example, maintenance and headquarters activity). But when Trump talks about “financial obligation” and money pouring into NATO, he is talking about indirect spending. (The White House did not respond to our request for explanation.)

-snip-

The Pinocchio Test

Trump certainly is not the first president to insist other members of NATO increase their defense spending. Yet he says that because of his insistence, countries are spending “billions and billions” more. Defense spending by NATO countries increased since they agreed in 2014 to work toward the 2 percent guideline, in response to threats from Russia. Increases in spending since then were the countries’ voluntary, independent decisions preceding his presidency.

This over-the-top rhetoric goes way too far, once again pushing him into Four-Pinocchio territory.

Four Pinocchios



more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/07/12/president-trumps-claim-billions-and-billions-are-pouring-into-nato-because-of-his-administration