Donald Trump has claimed
that the European Union was created to “beat the United States when it comes to
making money” in an interview with NBC News.
Speaking to Chuck Todd, whom
the Republican nominee has repeatedly berated as “sleepy-eyed”, Trump also said
of the EU “the reason that it got together was like a consortium so that it
could compete with the United States”.
The European Union was
founded as the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952 in an effort to
promote strong cross-border ties in Europe and avoid future wars. It has since
evolved to a customs union and eventually to the transnational entity devoted
to removing internal trade barriers, building a common market and a fiscal
union. Its development and growth has been repeatedly supported by the United
States under presidents of both parties.
Trump’s anti-European
statements come after the Republican nominee repeatedly praised Brexit, the
vote by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, including in a press
conference in the day after the referendum held at a Trump golf course in
Scotland.
In the interview, Trump
defended his recent attacks on Nato, saying that countries in the organization
needed to pay more to the United States in order for Washington to meet its
treaty obligations of mutual defense. In doing so, Trump called Senate majority
leader Mitch McConnell “100% wrong” for rebutting his comments earlier this
week. The Kentucky senator told Politico: “Nato is the most important military
alliance in world history. I want to reassure our Nato allies that if any of
them get attacked, we’ll be there to defend them.”
Trump also called both the
World Trade Organization and Nafta “disasters”.
The Republican nominee also
said that his call to ban people from the United States from “any nation that
has been compromised by terrorism” was an expansion on his infamous Muslim ban
of December, 2015. “I actually don’t think it’s a rollback. In fact, you could
say it’s an expansion,” said Trump. He added: “I’m looking now at territory.
People were so upset when I used the word Muslim. Oh, you can’t use the word
Muslim. Remember this. And I’m okay with that, because I’m talking territory
instead of Muslim.”
Trump also stood by longtime
friend Roger Ailes, who left Fox News this week after being accused of sexual
harassment by a number of former and current employees. “He’s been a friend of
mine for a long time,” said Trump. The Republican nominee went on to describe
the situation as “very sad. Because he’s a very good person. I’ve always found
him to be just a very, very good person”.
Trump added: “I feel very
badly. But a lot of people are thinking he’s going to run my campaign.”
He also confirmed reports
that he would seek revenge against former presidential nominee rivals John
Kasich and Ted Cruz by funding a super PAC in the 2018 cycle to help defeat
their respective attempts to win the gubernatorial election in Ohio and US
Senate election in Texas.
“I’ll probably do a super
PAC, you know, when they run against Kasich, for $10m to $20m, against Ted
Cruz,” said Trump. “And maybe one other person that I’m thinking about.”
Trump also initially hedged
on whether he’d support the Senate candidacy of former Ku Klux Klan candidate
David Duke, who announced Friday that he would mount a bid as a Republican in
his home state of Louisiana. When asked: “Would you support a Democrat over David
Duke,” Trump responded: “I guess, depending on who the Democrat was, but the
answer would be yes.”
Duke has cited Trump as an
inspiration for his candidacy and is a long-time endorser. The Republican
nominee has faced controversy during his campaign for his unwillingness to
condemn Duke at times.
Credit:The Guardian/FT/NBC
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