“We’re paying anywhere from 70 to 90 percent to protect Europe, and that’s fine. Of course, they kill us on trade” Trump said. “We have $151 billion in trade deficits with the EU and on top of that, they kill us with NATO,” Trump said referencing the budding trade war.
Trump, has frequently dressed down NATO counterparts and threatened to reduce U.S. military support if allies do not increase spending, singled out German Chancellor Angela Merkel during Thursday’s rally.
“I said, you know, Angela, I can’t guarantee it, but we’re protecting you, and it means a lot more to you than protecting us because I don’t know how much protection we get by protecting you,” Trump said.
“They [Germany] want to protect against Russia, and yet they pay billions of dollars to Russia, and we are the schmucks that are paying for the whole thing,” Trump told the crowd.
Trump’s comments come on the heels of reports that the Pentagon is assessing “the cost and impact of a large-scale withdrawal or transfer of American troops stationed in Germany.”