Thread: European official calls Trump's 'foe' comment 'fake news'

European official calls Trump's 'foe' comment 'fake news'

By Tara Palmeri
Jul 16, 2018, 4:57 AM ET

Senior European officials tell ABC News they're starting to see President Donald Trump as separate from the United States, and are instead focusing on the long history of partnership between the U.S. and Europe rather than his words, after he called the European Union a "foe" in an interview with CBS.
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European Council President Donald Tusk, taking the lead on this new interpretation of the EU-U.S. relationship, tweeted Sunday night, "America and the EU are best friends. Whoever says we are foes is spreading fake news."

Trump does not follow Tusk on Twitter.

One senior European official called it "shocking" and another called it "outrageous" to hear a U.S. president compare the relationship with the European Union to that of China and Russia.

At the same time, these officials admitted that if Trump is re-elected to a second term it will be a strong message from the American people that the U.S.'s relationship with Europe has significantly changed.

Even before Trump's "foe" comment, EU officials tell ABC News that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg privately told them, "Don't pay attention to the words, look to the deeds."

A senior NATO official noted that no policy was changed substantially at the NATO summit, and in fact many saw the final communique as a win.

That joint declaration, signed onto by all 29 NATO members and issued Wednesday, made no mention of any new funding commitments, as claimed by Trump in a press conference at the end of the summit. And the president’s declaration was also directly contradicted by one of his closest personal allies, French President Emanuel Macron.

"There is a communique that was published yesterday. It's very detailed," Macron said, according to the AP. "It confirms the goal of 2 percent by 2024. That's all."

Ahead of the Helsinki summit, European officials say they fear Trump more than Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Putin has a strategic line of confrontation with Europe, but with Trump we don't know what to expect, there is no line of thought," the European official said.

Tusk tweeted Monday morning his concerns that Trump will further rock the world order today at his meeting with Putin.

"Europe and China, America and Russia, today in Beijing and in Helsinki, are jointly responsible for improving the world order, not for destroying it. I hope this message reaches Helsinki," Tusk tweeted.

Trump sparred with Stoltenberg at a breakfast on the first morning of the NATO summit, railing against German investment in Russian oil and calling for an increase in defense spending by NATO members.

https://abcnews.go.com/International...ry?id=56613301

I just love this, Trump is calling all these European Globalists, "foes", and they're whining "fake news" and they love America. No, you love robbing our piggy bank, insulting our citizens, and meddling in our businesses. You are a "foe" socially and economically. Most Americans opposed your socialist globalist "bloc", good grief, that's what we called the Soviet Union and you all call yourselves by the same term, at least that's what Teresa May called you, she called you the "bloc" in her statement about Brexit leaving your "bloc" this weekend.

I so hope the French, Italians and others pull the plug on this silly EU "bloc" and dissolve it, go back to the "way you were", it was so much better. Just my opinion.

Trump needs a little more control over his mouth and twitter finger. In my opinion, it doesn't help his or our country's image any to go around calling our long-term allies foes. There is something to be said for being a little more tactful. This especially looks bad when he then turns around and heaps praises on Putin, Russia and China.

foe

(fō)n.1.a. A personal enemy or opponent.
b. One who is opposed to an idea or cause: a foe of tax reform.

2. An enemy in war.
3. Something that is destructive or injurious: taxes that were the foe of economic development.

Your definition fits the situation with the EU. If you heard or read the actual interview, a reporter asked Trump if they were a foe. It wasn't Trump's choice of words, it was the Sun reporter's choice, but when the shoe fits, wear it, and it did.