Russia would have already completely controlled Ukraine if not for the personal intervention of Donald Trump. The US president made this statement on his social network Truth Social.
Points of attention
- Donald Trump overstated his involvement in supporting Ukraine against Russia, claiming Ukraine would be under complete Russian control without his intervention.
- Trump falsely boasted about single-handedly ending eight wars and increasing NATO defense spending to 5% of GDP immediately, whereas the agreement is a gradual process until 2035.
- The activation of NATO's collective defense in 2001 proves Europe's support for the United States, debunking Trump's doubts on NATO countries standing by America.
Trump took full credit for Ukraine's military successes
The US President made a new boastful statement.
Without my intervention, Russia would already control all of Ukraine. Remember, too, that I single-handedly ended eight wars, and that Norway, a NATO member, foolishly decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that I saved millions of lives.
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Trump also boasted that he had forced NATO countries to increase their defense spending.
They were spending 2% of GDP, and most of them weren't paying their obligations until I came along. The US was foolishly paying for them. I respectfully raised that to 5% of GDP — and they're paying immediately. Everyone said it was impossible to achieve, but it was possible.
In his opinion, Russia and China would not be afraid of NATO at all if the United States were not part of this alliance. He also expressed doubts that NATO countries would "stand by" America if the need arose. However, he assured that the United States would "always stand by" NATO countries, even if they "are not standing by" America.
Trump's statement contains a number of inaccurate, questionable, and sometimes downright false claims. For example, during the summer summit, NATO countries did indeed agree to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP. But this will be a gradual increase until 2035, and not "immediately," as Trump claims.
Although Trump doubts that Europe will come to the defense of the United States, the only time in history when NATO's 5th paragraph on collective defense was activated was in 2001. Then, European countries supported the US military operation in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.
Trump's claims that he "single-handedly" ended 8 wars are also false. In all cases, several intermediary countries were involved in the negotiations, not just the United States. Moreover, it is impossible to claim that these wars are finally over, as hostilities periodically flare up again.
