Trump kicks off London summit with unexpected defense of NATO

President Trump and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/BBC News)

President Trump met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in London on Tuesday, ahead of a celebration of the 29-member alliance's 70th anniversary. Asked about French President Emmanuel Macron's comment last month that NATO was "brain dead," Trump delivered an unexpectedly robust defense of the organization. Macron's comment to The Economist centered on Turkey's invasion of Syria and what he saw as Trump's waning commitment to NATO.

Trump called Macron's comments "very, very nasty" to the alliance's 28 other members and "a very dangerous statement for them to make." Macron "just can't go around making statements like that about NATO," he added. "It is very disrespectful."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.