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Post by bot on May 28, 2017 20:32:57 GMT -5
Hoyer Statement on President Trump's Remarks Before NATO Allies
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today in response to President Trump's remarks to leaders of NATO member countries:
“The President of the United States should not be lecturing our closest and most steadfast allies but reaffirming our common defense and our commitment to stand with them. I was appalled by his condescending remarks to NATO leaders today, which were an embarrassment for our country. President Trump’s call for NATO members to pay for common defense as though the NATO alliance were a transactional relationship, along with his repeated insistence on banning immigration, risk undermining the alliance and the principles for which it stands.
“There should be no doubt: NATO remains a core alliance for the United States, and it is as necessary now as it has ever been. As we confront a horrific terrorist attack in Britain, Russia’s ongoing incursion throughout Eastern Europe, and an ongoing crisis in Syria, we need a strong NATO ready to meet its collective defense commitments. The United States and its NATO allies must defend the norms that underpin European security and, more broadly, the international order. Instead of lecturing our allies about payments, President Trump ought to express America’s gratitude for the leadership and sacrifices we have seen from nations like Germany, which has absorbed hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees; Denmark, which has sent troops to Afghanistan and maintains peacekeeping forces in Kosovo; and Canada, whose air force jointly patrols the skies over North America to protect our hemisphere.”
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