Wow if True: President Trump Engages in Embarrassing Hillary-esque Gimmick Diplomacy

This may explain why the joint press conference President Trump held with German Chancellor Angela Merkel seemed more awkward than the initial greeting between the two leaders. Reportedly Trump handed Merkel a mock invoice billing Germany for what he believes they still owe in contributions to NATO…with 12 years of interest tacked on.

Donald Trump reportedly gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel a bill for £300bn when the pair met recently to cover contributions he believes are owed to Nato.

The US president made the demand during private talks when the pair met in Washington DC, the Sunday Times reported.

One German minister described the reported move by Mr Trump as “outrageous”.

If this is true, Trump has entered the realm of Hillary Clinton’s Russian “RESET” button.  Hillary’s button gimmick was an embarrassment because the Russian word her team used for “reset” actually translated to “overcharge.” Oddly enough, the Germans are reportedly accusing  Trump of doing just that—overcharging them.

The sum being demanded by the US has been backdated to 2002, the year Mrs Merkel’s predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, pledged to spend more on defence, according to the report.

Mr Trump reportedly instructed aides to calculate how much German spending fell below two per cent over the past 12 years, then added interest.

The unnamed German minister added: “The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the Chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations.”

The White House denies that the invoice incident ever took place, but being provocative and attempting to intimidate people is Trump’s modus operandi. Invoice or no invoice, Trump was still very vocal about his claim that Germany is in arrears.

Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, Germany owes…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2017

…vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2017

German officials pushed back against Trump’s accusations.

“There is no debt account at Nato.

“Defence spending also goes into UN peacekeeping missions, into our European missions and into our contribution to the fight against [Isis] terrorism.”

Her comments were backed by Ivo Daalder, permanent representative to Nato from 2009 to 2013 under the Obama administration, who queried the President’s understanding of the organisation.

He tweeted: “Sorry Mr President, that’s not how Nato works. The US decides for itself how much it contributes to defending Nato.

“This is not a financial transaction, where Nato countries pay the US to defend them. It is part of our treaty commitment.”

Personally I have little difficulty believing that Trump is capable of a stunt like this. As I said earlier, it would explain why the later public interaction between Trump and Merkel seemed so awkward.

I can’t wait for him to send Mexico an invoice for his wall.

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