Trump’s Nato snub stuns Europeans
BEST RESPONSE FOR SUCH COMMENTS IS A UNITED CONTINENT, FRENCH MINISTER SAYS
E uropean Union nations reacted with surprise and defiance yesterday to Donald Trump’s comments that he believed Nato was “obsolete” and that more member states would leave the 28-nation EU.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the US President-elect’s view on Nato and criticism that allied members weren’t paying their fair share has “caused astonishment.”
At a meeting of EU foreign ministers, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the best response to such an interview was simple — a united Europe.
In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that even though Trump’s positions had been well known “I think we Europeans have our fate in our own hands.
“I’m personally going to wait until the American president takes office, and then we will naturally work with him on all levels,” she said.
Some EU officials fear Trump’s frequent, often acerbic Twitter postings might be the prelude to a caustic presidency after Friday’s inauguration.
“We are going to move away from, I guess, a kind of Twitter diplomacy, and then into reality,” said Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen, adding that reality could be “perhaps more difficult than what is going on on Twitter.”
Although Trump had made similar statements about Nato during his election campaign, his recent comments still came as a bit of a surprise since his choice for defence secretary, retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, stressed his support for the Nato military alliance in his US congressional confirmation hearing last week.
For Barack Obama, there’s a presidential library to build, hundreds of millions of dollars to raise, causes to champion and a book to write. And don’t forget that long-promised vacation with his wife.
Looming retirement is looking like anything but for the 44th president.
Obama’s next chapter starts Friday when he becomes an ex-president. He’ll be freer to speak his mind, set his own schedule and make some money.
Already, Obama is looking ahead to the book he wants to write, and has had talks with Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel about arrangements that could include speaking gigs.
At 55, Obama will be a relatively young ex-president, with plenty of time for a second act. He’s ruled out running another campaign for political office — so has his wife — but he has pledged to stay active in the national conversation.
With President-elect Donald Trump headed to the White House, Democrats are eager for Obama to play the role of shadow-president, offering direction to those Americans who feel they lost their political compass the day Trump was elected.
Obama has said he has plenty of ideas for how his party can revive itself, but after eight years as president, his role will be to offer guidance, not to micromanage. “I think it’s appropriate for me to give advice, because I need some sleep,” Obama told NPR last month. “And I’ve promised Michelle a nice vacation. My girls are getting old enough now where I’m clinging to those very last moments before they are out of the house.”
Obama is expected to keep a low profile for the first few months after Trump’s swearing-in.
Following some relaxation time with his wife and daughters in an unnamed location, the family will return to Washington, where they’ve rented a mansion in the upscale Kalorama neighbourhood.
Obama has repeatedly praised George W. Bush for giving him room to operate without having the ex-president publicly second-guess him at every turn. Still, Obama has reserved the right to speak out against Trump if he pursues policies the president finds particularly odious