Writing in The New York Times and provided here at the Free Media site, Sylvie Kauffmann writes that President Trump is bullying our NATO allies. We wrote about this on Sunday, saying he bullies those with no alternatives.
For decades after World War II ended, American presidents maintained the polite fiction that they, and their NATO allies were equals or peers. In his usual frank style, Trump sees this as ludicrous, which it always was, and refuses to keep up the pretense.
That’s a cold shower to leaders accustomed to a warm embrace, and they quite naturally hate it. Their predicament is their own fault, and at some level they understand this to be true.
Instead of standing on their own two feet they chose to let the U.S. defend them. They adopted a childlike posture instead of adult self-sufficiency. Now Trump treats them like naughty children and it is unpleasant ... but entirely warranted.
I’m reminded of the parents in New England who had to sue their 40ish son to get him to move out of their home. Baby birds need to leave the nest, European nations need to take responsibility for their own actions, their own safety. Whining isn’t going to work with this president, he demands they “Man Up” or be sent to bed without their supper.
