Trump: The EU is one of America’s greatest foes
‘They’ve really taken advantage’
DONALD Trump described the European Union as one of America’s biggest foes – hours before his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In yet another incendiary interview, the US President named the EU ahead of Russia and China on a list of his enemies yesterday.
Mr Trump said the EU is ‘taking advantage’ of America through its trade deals and the level of Nato defence spending by some member countries.
He travelled from his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland last night to Finland, where he will meet Mr Putin today.
The President is under pressure to challenge Mr Putin over the Novichok nerve agent poisoning in Salisbury after being shown compelling evidence linking the Kremlin to the attack. And critics in the US have called for him to cancel the meeting after the Department of Justice charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking Democratic officials during the 2016 presidential elections.
Mr Trump said he would go into the meeting with Mr Putin with ‘low expectations’, and ‘getting along with Russia is a good thing’. During an interview with CBS News at his golf resort, he was asked who his ‘biggest foe’ was. The President replied: ‘Well I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade.
‘Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union, but they’re a foe. Russia is a foe in certain respects. China is a foe economically, certainly they are a foe. But that doesn’t mean they are bad. It means that they are competitive.’
When asked why he listed the EU as an enemy ahead of China and Russia, he said: ‘I respect the leaders of those countries. But, in a trade sense, they’ve really taken advantage of us and many of those countries are in Nato and they weren’t paying their bills.’
He also reiterated his criticism of Germany for paying billions for Russian gas exports while America spends billions of dollars to help with counter- defence against the Kremlin. Mr Trump said: ‘I think it’s ridiculous.’
Mr Trump later tweeted he was looking forward to the Helsinki summit, adding: ‘Unfortunately, no matter how well I do at the summit... I would return to criticism that it wasn’t good enough.’
Mr Trump was briefed on the attempted assassination of Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March. The same batch of Novichok killed Dawn Sturgess and left her partner Charlie Rowley critically ill last month. Miss Sturgess’s son Ewan, 19, yesterday said: ‘I would like him to raise Mum’s case with the Russian president. We need to get justice for my mum.’
Buckingham Palace has been forced to deny claims that Prince Charles and Prince William were unwilling to meet Mr Trump on his visit. A spokesman said: ‘There was never a suggestion that other members of the Royal Family would take part.’
Mr Trump’s visit was marked by nationwide protests, although police estimated that only 9,000 turned out for a demo in Edinburgh on Saturday – nowhere near the 60,000 claimed by organisers.
Theresa May has addressed why she has often been pictured holding hands with Mr Trump. The Prime Minister told the BBC’s Andrew Marr: ‘He takes my hand to help in going up the steps.’