Trump effect: Germany taking defense spending and readiness seriously
During his first term, President Donald Trump was mocked when he wanted our European allies to spend more on their defense while relying less on Russian energy. Ironically, After Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many European countries moved in the direction Trump tried to get them to move years earlier. Conversations about Europe in the leaked text did not appear to be what Europe wanted to hear either. The Europeans may be starting to get the message that they need to increase their own capabilities instead of taking advantage of their arrangement with the US.
From Fox News:
In 2018, Trump rebuked Germany’s addiction to Russian gas, according to observers of German-U.S. relations. He told the U.N. General Assembly that “Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course. Here in the Western Hemisphere, we are committed to maintaining our independence from the encroachment of expansionist foreign powers.”
During his remarks, the camera panned to Germany’s delegation to the U.N. in 2018, including its then-U.N. Ambassador, Christoph Heusgen, and former Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who all seemingly laughed and smiled at Trump.
However, those smirks soon turned into raw anxiety, when four years later, in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and Germany scrambled for a way to wean itself off Russian gas to avoid helping reward Putin.
Matthew Kroenig, director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, told Fox News Digital, “Every U.S. presidential administration since Eisenhower has complained about European free riding, but asking “pretty please” has not worked. Trump’s tough rhetoric is achieving results that eluded his predecessors.
“The Trump effect is in part due to Trump raising NATO burden sharing to the very top of the transatlantic security agenda and in part due to genuine fears that Washington could abandon NATO and Europe would need to fend for itself.”
Additional Reading:
Weinthal, B. (2025, March 29). Trump effect forces Germany to reprioritize defense as nation plays catch-up in military spending. Fox News. Link.
Category: Donald Trump, International Affairs, NATO
So, Trump in 2018 tried undercut the Russian energy market by pushing Europe to become energy independent.
Yet all the Democrats continued with the scam that Trump was a Russian agent.
Nobody has done more to contain Russia than Trump, but he is still accused by Democrats of being Putin’s friend.
(Edit: I can’t write for shit)
Never forget Joe, if you wanna know what kind of underhanded crap the dims are up to, just pay attention to what they’re accusing others, especially President Trump of.
It’s called “projection” .
And the dems have more of it than the biggest AMC multiplex!
Nowadays, it’s called “progressive.”
Teddy Roosevelt would be appalled.
TR would probably slap today’s progressives upside their heads for stealing the name of his party and changing its meaning so much.
It’s really Party of the Repulsive, isn’t it ?
The party of those who truly are deplorable.
Your writing skills got your point across, so I say you write pretty well.
Joe …
You got your point across, which is the purpose of writing. You did fine. (I write for a living, so I guess I’m supposed to know.)
Aw, shit. The last time Germany started taking “national defense” seriously things didn’t go so well for the world…
In 1914 and 1870, too.
1987 “tear down this wall”
Germany was a muppet state at that point. It wasn’t them talking.
Only foreigners can say pro-German stuff there.
Great …now I want to make run to ‘.
NeQM1c-XCDc A lil Ramstein
That is some whacked out shit right there!
That’s like saying that water is wet, fire is hot and shit stinks!
I did Nazi that coming.
By the way, day late
, but here.
)
I forgot yesterday it was Friday because I was so goddamn busy and now I’m sitting on the campfire, taking about five breaths in a row without worrying about anything else.
Even though I’m still at home. (Home campfire
Carry on you shit, flinging monkey bitches.
I have one ready in the back yard, waiting for the younguns to come home to burn.
Back yard is misleading, there’s 200acres back there and a forest beyond that!
We had a day of rain, then last night hail, followed by an inch of snow.. campfire gonna have to wait here.. more rain today, but maybe next weekend will be better.
You are Goring to make me laugh.
There is Rohm for all types on TAH
The Germans better start recycling beer cans.
And taking pride is peeing standing up again.
Phuque ’em! If we don’t send American Boys (and Girls) to do what European Boys (and Girls) should be doing, we wouldn’t even need just enough of their land to bury our dead. And we all know that is what they want us to do. “Hey Fritz…how’s that shutting down all of your coal fired power plants and industries doing for you? You getting cold yet?”
Germans had better get over women fighting for them. With their lagging birth rate, they should be grateful for anyone German who serves.
They tried to address the birth rate issue before with Lebensborn.
Whoot! if I wasn’t happily married, I’d say she could tie me up, whip me and make me write bad checks any day!
Write bad checks? Hell…I’d go straight to the ATM for her…
[…] This ain’t Hell…: Trump effect: Germany taking defense spending and readiness seriously […]
The Pirate’s Cove
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/23/europe/germany-military-investment-intl/index.html
I only buy Russian gasoline for my Japanese car.
It may not do much, but I’m trying my best to ease tensions between those two nations.