FEE, FI, FOE , DUMB
Trump paints ally as villain ahead of lovefest with Putin
President Trump threw another bruising punch in his Euro-trashing tour of America's allies Sunday, labeling the European Union a top “foe” — ahead of Russia and China.
In the wake of a contentious NATO summit last week and a controversy-filled visit to the United Kingdom, the EU was first on Trump's hit list when asked by CBS News to name the United States' biggest global trade foe.
“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,” he said before leaving for Helsinki for his much-anticipated summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Only after slapping Europe did Trump, speaking from his Scotland golf course, add Russia and China to the list.
“Russia's a foe in certain respects. China's a foe — economically, certainly they're a foe. But that doesn't mean they're bad. It doesn't mean anything. It means that they're competitors. They want to do well, and we want to do well,” he said.
On his current overseas trip, Trump went after NATO allies at a Brussels summit for what he views as their insufficient spending on defense.
He moved on to the United Kingdom, where he was critical of Prime Minister Theresa May's plan for the country's exit from the European Union voted for in the Brexit referendum. Trump told the British paper The Sun that her approach, which sought to work out trade and border agreements with the EU, had “killed” the chance for a British trade deal with the United States once Brexit is complete.
The British leader dismissed Trump's suggested ploy for striking a deal with the EU.
“He told me I should sue the EU,” May told the BBC on Sunday. “Not go into negotiations, sue them. Actually, no, we're going into negotiations with them.”
Trump was greeted by large protests in London, and on Saturday, a paragliding protester from Greenpeace entered the restricted air space around his Scottish golf resort in Turnberry.
“Look, EU is very difficult,” Trump said in the CBS interview when asked why he would label Europe a foe. “I love those countries. I respect the leaders of those countries. But in a trade sense, they've really taking advantage of us. And many of those countries are in NATO and they weren't paying their bills.”
His comments drew a sharp rebuke from Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, the group of leaders tasked with setting the EU's political agenda.
“America and the EU are best friends. Whoever says we are foes is spreading fake news,” Tusk tweeted.