Donald Trump had a series of troubling meltdowns at the NATO summit yesterday, threatening allies, lashing out at enemies, and making his case for invading Greenland. He openly boasted that he was about to start bombing Iran again, threatened to commit war crimes, called a world leader by the wrong name, and dismissed the financial impact of his Iran war as "alright." There was also confusion over which Air Force One he would use to return home.
Trump's Bilateral Meeting with NATO Secretary General
Trump started the day with a bilateral meeting with Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO. When the press were allowed in, it became clear that Trump was not in a good place. In a lengthy, unbroken stream of consciousness, he announced the US had attacked Iran the night before, called Iran's leaders "sick," "dirty players," and "scum," said he was not happy with NATO because of "what they did with Greenland" and their unwillingness to help in his bombing of Iran. He ranted about Spain being a "wasted cause" and repeatedly pretended to tell an off-camera aide to cut off all trade with Spain, which he cannot do unilaterally as Spain is in the EU. Rutte sat next to him, smiling and acting like this was all normal, before gushing about how great Trump was.
Threats to Greenland and Iran
Trump went on at length about how much he wants America to own Greenland, saying America should never have given it back to Denmark after World War II. Asked by a reporter if the Iran ceasefire was "over," Trump said: "That's an interesting question. For me? I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them any more. They're scum. You know what scum is?"
Danish Reporter Challenges Rutte
A Danish reporter later asked Rutte a pointed question: "You sit next to Donald Trump at moments when he talks about conquering Greenland, talks about lashing out at allies like Spain -- things it doesn't seem like the old Mark Rutte would approve of. Does this have any effect on your self-respect when you sit there and say nothing?" Rutte replied by praising Trump's achievements.
Comparing Ukraine Invasion to Kids Fighting
Trump met with Volodymyr Zelensky later in the day and compared Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine to kids fighting in a park. "You have two kids in a park and they don't like each other and they start fighting. Sometimes you have to let them fight. Let them see that it's tough. Fighting is tough," he said.
Offering Ukraine Patriot Missile Licenses
Trump said he would agree to license US-designed Patriot missiles to be manufactured outside America, including by Ukraine. However, he admitted he had not informed the manufacturer Lockheed Martin of this policy change. "One of the things we're gonna be talking about is we're gonna give a license to you to make Patriots," Trump said. "That's pretty cool, right? We haven't informed the company of that yet, but that'll work out alright. I'm sure they'll be thrilled."
Threatening War Crimes
Trump also threatened to deliberately target Iranian infrastructure, which is generally held to be a breach of international law. He said: "In one day, we could knock down every single bridge in Iran. There's not a thing they can do about it ... if we have to, we'll take them out. They have desalinisation plants. We'll take them out if we have to ... maybe we'll take over Kharg island."
Calling Zelensky 'President Putin'
Trump mistakenly referred to Zelensky as "President Putin" during a press conference. The 80-year-old US President turned to reporters, pointed to Mr Zelensky and said: "Do you have a question for President Putin, please?" The gaffe came almost exactly two years after former President Joe Biden made the same mistake at the same conference. Trump later tried to style it out, insisting a Ukrainian reporter give him a question for Russia's dictator.
Dismissing Oil Price Increase
When asked about a $2 increase in oil prices likely due to resumed hostilities in Iran, Trump sniffed back: "When we hit Iran, oil goes up a bit. It's alright."
Confusion Over Air Force One
There was confusion about which Air Force One Trump would use to return home. He posted a cryptic message on Truth Social saying the new Qatar-gifted jet would be sent to RAF Mildenhall, but he would travel on the "old" Air Force One "for old times' sake." Speculation arose that the Pentagon had not managed to fit security and weapons systems into the new plane, which is problematic when taking off from a country bordering Iran while bombing Iran. Asked about it, Trump said: "Uh, it's flying to Europe to one of the big bases where we can show it to the people. And we'll be going home by ...uh ...normal methods." After takeoff, reporters on Air Force One were told to keep window shades closed, which is not normal.
