TRUMP: FUTURE OF THE WEST AT RISK
President’s warning over the threat from Islamic extremism and Russia... as he questions whether we ‘have the will to survive’
‘Use hatred to justify violence’
DONALD Trump yesterday warned that the future of Western civilisation is at stake and the West must decide if it has the ‘will to survive’.
At the start of a four-day trip to Europe, the US President said the lack of a collective resolve could doom an alliance that endured through the Cold War.
In a speech in Warsaw – ahead of the G20 meeting in Hamburg – he lashed out at hostile forces, ranging from Islamic terrorism to Russia.
He addressed a large cheering crowd and allowed for long pauses as he listened to chants of ‘Donald Trump’ from the monument to the 1944 Uprising in the city.
Praising Poland for its resilience in the face of historic threats from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, he declared: ‘Let us all fight like Poles.’
Mr Trump said: ‘As the Polish experience reminds us, the defence of the West ultimately rests not only on means but also on the will of its people to prevail.
‘The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive.’ While it was no longer necessary to confront the ‘spectre of communism’ in Europe, there were other ‘dire threats’ to the West’s security and way of life, Mr Trump said.
‘ We are confronted by another oppressive ideology – one that seeks to export terrorism and extremism all around the globe. America and Europe have suffered one terror attack after another. We’re going to get it to stop.’
He said during his visit to Saudi Arabia he had urged the leaders of 50 Muslim nations to help tackle Islamic extremists. He added: We must stand united against these shared enemies.’
Mr Trump was given a very warm welcome, the crowd cheering and chanting his name. Many were said to have been bussed in to ensure his reception was big and noisy.
Appearing to refer to America’s controversial travel ban, he said the US would always welcome new citizens but added: ‘Our borders will always be closed to terrorism and extremism of any kind.
‘We cannot accept those who reject our values and who use hatred to justify violence.’
Then he said there were other powers seeking to test the will of the West but the US was part of the ‘fastest and the greatest community’ the world had ever seen.
He hit out at Russia for its ‘destabilising activities’ and urged Vladimir Putin to join the ‘community of responsible nations to the fight against common enemies and in defence of civilisation itself’.
The US leader is to meet Russian President Mr Putin for the first time in Hamburg today.
In a provocative statement, he praised Poland for signing a memorandum of intent to purchase the Patriot missile defence system in the face of Russian aggression.
Calling on Europe to do more to secure its future, he said: ‘Each generation must rise up and play its part in defence. Every foot of ground and every last inch of civilisation is worth defending with your life.’
Earlier in the day, he said other countries must also stand up to North Korea to show there are consequences for ‘bad behaviour’.
He also said he would confront the threat of North Korea, which test launched a intercontinental ballistic missile ICBM for the first time as part of its nuclear weapons programme early this week.
Another ‘danger’ Mr Trump highlighted in his speech was the ‘ creep of government bureaucracy’ which he said ‘drains the vitality and wealth of the people’.
He added: ‘The West became great not because of paperwork and regulations but because people were allowed to chase their dreams and pursue their destinies.’