Trump yelled at NATO leaders in public. In private, it was a different story.
President Donald Trump spends first hours at NATO summitbeating in front of everyonereading a list of grievances that cause the alliance and allies to fear the worst.
He later changed his tune by going behind closed doors.
The president was much more positive when he gave his final 30-minute speech on Wednesday, leaving out his own speech. Desire to annex Greenlandor criticize Spain, The last sandbag in EuropeThat’s according to four people who were granted anonymity to describe details of the private meeting. Although there was some criticism, there was also praise.
“We want to stay with you,” Trump said, according to a second meeting attendee.
This change was a remarkable turnaround for a president. He threatened many times left the alliance and went after European leaders lots of praise He thanked Trump for helping allies increase defense spending. However, participants were not able to clearly understand what specifically changed his attitude.
“It was a bit unexpected, the mood in the room was much better than it seemed before,” said one in four. “His mood seems to have changed.”
Trump boasted about the bravery of the U.S. military and thanked leaders from Poland, Germany, the Baltic states and Norway for their contributions to the alliance.
“We just had our NATO meeting and it was a great meeting,” Trump said ahead of a separate meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. he said. “You’ve probably heard that it was a great meeting, there was so…so much love in that room.”
His remarks represented a sharp turn from his condemnations on Tuesday and Wednesday, when he berated NATO for not helping the Iran war and bristled at Spain’s refusal to spend more on defence. Trump went so far as to call on the United States and other countries to cut ties with Spain.
A diplomat said the meeting did not mention any countries on the “naughty list”. “Only in his public speeches.”
The reversal also shows why European leaders remain on edge around a president who enjoys his own unpredictability. America’s carefully crafted diplomatic statements are increasingly becoming a relic, and what Trump says in one meeting may not reflect his views in the next meeting.
“So that’s what’s happening in the room,” said one alliance official, who agreed to remain anonymous to speak publicly. “Let’s see what the public will say.”
European leaders did their best to praise the US president during the summit. Even NATO chief Mark Rutte he told POLITICO Trump’s push to increase defense spending is “great news” for allies.
However, the tension has not yet been resolved. Hovering over the remainder of the conference are renewed hostilities with Iran and the issue of Greenland, which Trump insists must be “controlled” by the United States.
Shortly after Trump’s previous over-the-top statements about Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the island was not for sale, a view shared by her alliance counterparts.
“It is a well-known position that the United States wants to own and seize Greenland,” Frederiksen said. “I hope it will be known everywhere that this will not happen.”
