On Tuesday, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, held a meeting with three prominent foreign officials in London. President hosted meeting with Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary-General of NATO, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, and Emmanuel Macron, the President of France.
Once the meeting is over, President Trump interacted with reporters for more than two hours. During the interaction, the President claimed at least 21 false or controversial statements. The development is unusual, as most of the leaders check their facts before commenting on anything in an international summit. But for President, it was a regular Tuesday. President made several false claims about NATO while interacting with Jens Stoltenberg and same the case with the other two leaders too. The French President once corrected President Trump about his fact.
Some of the Fact Check
The most prominent and most controversial statement was the President’s accusation on European nations for not spending enough money on defence. But according to NATO guideline, every NATO member required to pay at least 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence. Though President Trump was right to some extent, on the other hand, the President forgot that the guidelines are not binding. The 2014 guidance suggests that the members required meeting the criteria in a decade, not immediately.
President Trump also stated that a prosperous country like Germany is spending a mere 1 to 1.2% of its GDP on defence. In contrast, the United States allocated 4 to 4.3% of its GDP on the military. But according to data released by Washington, the United States has spent 3.42% of its GDP on the army in 2019 and a similar number in 2018 as well.
President also made several false statements on ISIS. He revealed that when he entered the White House, ISIS captured 100% of the area while he reduced it to 0. But, the fact is before President Trump’s tenure, the United States captured vast land from ISIS.
