W.Minh Tuan

In recent days, February 2024, US President Biden and his supporters have tried to insult and condemn Mr. Trump, because Mr. Trump said he would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries, if NATO countries refuse to increase defense costs, and refuse to give up the idea of relying solely on the US for defense.

Mr. Trump’s words are indeed not delicate, not beautiful, but Mr. Trump’s purpose is good, right, that NATO must be stronger, must rely on its own strength, must not rely on the America.

When Mr. Trump ran for President of the United States in 2016, he introduced the MAGA slogan: “Make America Great Again“, and the means to implement Mr. Trump’s MAGA was to focus more on domestic issues, reduce US involvement in world affairs, and the US Government needs to use the US people’s tax dollars to serve the interests of the American people more, not to serve the common interests of the outside world.

Those who have the ideology of wanting America to continue and forever be the world’s hegemon, America to be the international gendarme-police, America to be the most powerful in the world, then they are not familiar with this MAGA idea of Mr. Trump.

In 2017, President Trump visited Japan, and a journalist asked him if Japan was attacked, would the US protect Japan? President Trump asked back the journalist, that if America was attacked, would Japan protect America?

Japanese public opinion at that time was shocked and worried, and for the first time Japanese people felt insecure about their relationship and protection with the United States.

The Japanese, like NATO, are accustomed to the idea that if they are attacked, the United States will certainly intervene to protect them.

But with MAGA, the relationship between America and the world is reciprocal, if I protect you, you must also protect me.

That way of saying it is blunt, not diplomatically tactful, but it is correct, and it cannot be otherwise.

Americans cannot continue to spend the budget and tax money of the American people to protect America’s allies, and not know whether America’s allies will protect America or not?

Mr. Trump is not a politician, he is a hotel and golf course businessman. He doesn’t have empty, meaningless political talk like “I will consider the situation, and will make decisions according to the situation“.

This is the common saying of Japanese politicians. They always avoid saying their true opinions, and they are always afraid of responsibility for their statements. Therefore, a large number of voters in Japan say that many Japanese politicians are liars.

With Mr. Trump, did he lie?

Yes, of course. Who doesn’t lie?

If someone says “I like people who tell the truth, I only tell the truth”, then that is the biggest lie.

But Mr. Trump is not lying when he lays out policies to carry out his MAGA.

NATO is the abbreviation for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, established on April 4, 1949, after the end of World War II, including 29 member countries of European members of the EU, and two more North American countries, the US and Canada, totaling 31 countries.

The mission of this NATO bloc is mainly to deal with the Soviet Union and the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe.

Now that the Eastern European socialist bloc has disintegrated, only Russia remains, so NATO’s main task is to deal with Russia.

But because America always volunteers to be the big brother and the world’s hegemon, NATO countries leisurely spend their budgets on defense very frugally, only less than 1% of their country’s GDP, leaving the burden of National defense spending is mainly borne by the American people.

Mr. Trump does not accept that injustice.

In 2016, as soon as Mr. Trump became President of the United States, he bluntly told NATO countries that you should increase defense spending, because you only spend less than 1% of GDP on your country, it is unfair, while the US has to spend up to 3%, approximately 800 billion USD by 2024.

Yet Germany, with a GDP of more than 5,000 billion USD in 2023, defense costs just under 50 billion USD. Britain’s GDP is over 3,000 billion USD, expenditure is relatively a bit better, about 60 billion USD.

France, GDP is about 3,000 billion, costs are less than 40 billion USD.

Japan, not a member of NATO, but an important ally of the US, only spends about 40 billion USD with a GDP of about 5,000 billion USD in 2023.

When he was President for the 2016-2020 term, Mr. Trump urged Allied countries and Japan to increase defense costs, upgrade defense power, and stop relying on the US too much, but no country does it at all.

Both Japan, Germany, England, France, Italy, Australia, all ignored and were indifferent to Mr. Trump’s strong call.

They are too used to American protection, they are too stingy, too selfish, they do not want to reduce their bread to increase their weapons and military spending.

NATO countries and Japan, Australia and New Zealand were too happy to use budget money to increase their happy meals, but did not want to spend on defense.

Then suddenly Russia attacked Ukraine, so the whole world, including NATO, Japan, Australia, ,,, were all worried, and began to rethink their defense strength.

However, they were still just pondering like that, without taking any specific action, and no one had cut their bread into small pieces.

They still leave a huge piece of bread, along with meat, fish, butter, and milk for their happy meals.

As for national defense, it still depends on America.

So in February 2024, Mr. Trump bluntly threatened that if he was elected President, he would incite Russia to attack several NATO countries, to warn that you NATO to take care of its own defense, not me US.

Mr. Trump’s words were not very polite, but they had good intentions, and the results justified the actions.

A few days later, the German Government and the French Government both loudly announced that they would increase spending on defense.

Since last year 2023, the Japanese government has pledged to increase the defense budget, buy 400 more Tomahawk missiles, and buy more modern F-35 aircraft, but has not taken any specific action, just announced, that’s all.

But from today, at the end of February 2024, America’s Allied countries and Japan seem to be really panicking, and really seriously reconsidering their defense policies.

So Mr. Trump’s words may not seem pretty, not very delicate, too blunt, but they have good results, and as such, will be better for world peace.///