A 2018 video shows then-President Trump slamming NATO leaders – particularly Germany – for being “totally controlled” by Russia due to their dependence on energy from the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The confrontation shows Trump speaking at a breakfast meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and questioning why the United States protects Germany when they’re deeply involved in an energy deal with Russia.
“I think it’s very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia, where you’re supposed to be guarding against Russia, and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia,” he told Stoltenberg.
“So we’re protecting Germany, we’re protecting France, we’re protecting all of these countries. And then numerous of the countries go out and make a pipeline deal with Russia where they’re paying billions of dollars into the coffers of Russia,” he added.
“And I think that’s very inappropriate.”
Watch this video – the depth of knowledge, the passion in fighting for American needs – and compare and contrast it with President Biden’s commentary on Russia and NATO in recent days.
I know CNN & MSNBC never aired this, so I figured I would. Spot on, don’t you think? pic.twitter.com/6V1vRKxP8p
— Justin Pulitzer 🍊 (@JustinPulitzer) February 24, 2022
Trump Slams Germany For Being Controlled By Russia
Trump continued to bash Germany in front of NATO representatives in a press conference prior to a two-day summit.
The President at the time insisted that Germany is “totally controlled” by Russia, something he defied the leaders to “tell me if that is appropriate because I think it’s not.”
“I think it is a very bad thing for NATO and I don’t think it should have happened and I think we have to talk to Germany about it,” he added.
As for comparing his leadership and intellect to that of President Biden, Fox News personality Sean Hannity did just that in his broadcast earlier this week.
Hannity described Biden as ‘sauntering out’ to deliver “very uninspiring remarks.”
He went on to describe the 2018 video as “an epic face-to-face, complete beat down” with Trump “rebuking European leaders, getting right in their face for their dependence on Russia for their energy.”
“Do you think Joe Biden could ever be capable of this level of passionate fighting for what is in our country’s best interest?” asked Hannity.
Watch the latest video at foxnews.com
Biden Gave Russia Leverage With Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
The New York Post reported in 2018 that Trump’s comments were referencing “the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would bring natural gas from Russia to northern Germany and bypass other nations like Poland and Ukraine.”
You may recall that President Biden waived sanctions on Nord Stream 2 even as he killed the Keystone pipeline in America, something the BBC described as “a major geopolitical prize for the Kremlin.”
Kinda hilarious the media spent 4 years casting Trump as Putin’s Puppet and Biden just gifted Putin Nord Stream 2. And they didn’t even ask him about it.
— Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) June 16, 2021
In an interview this past summer on Fox News, Trump slammed President Biden for his alleged weakness when it came to his first meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He referenced the pipeline as an example of such weakness.
“We gave a very big stage to Russia, and we got nothing. We gave up something that was unbelievably valuable. I stopped the pipeline, NordStream II, and the pipeline was stopped, and it was given back [to Germany and Russia] and nothing was gotten for it,” Trump said.
“I think it was a good day for Russia. I don’t think we got anything out of it.”
Senate Democrats sided with Biden and Russia, defending Nord Stream 2 by rejecting an effort by Senator Ted Cruz to impose sanctions related to the Russian-German natural gas pipeline just one month ago.
Here are all the Senators who voted against Cruz’s Nord Stream 2 sanctions bill last month. 43 Democrats and 1 Rand Paul pic.twitter.com/uevkROkEUY
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) February 24, 2022
As the all-out war effort in Ukraine deepened and Russian attacks have intensified, Biden was forced to implement sanctions on the company in charge of building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Cruz praised Biden for coming to his senses.
“President Biden made the right decision today,” the Texas Republican said in a statement. “Allowing Putin’s Nord Stream 2 to come online would have created multiple, cascading, and acute security crises for the United States and our European allies for generations to come.”
Perhaps the President should have paid attention to Trump’s claims that Germany was “totally controlled” by Russia.
Why didn’t Putin invade Ukraine during the Trump admin? It was because the US signaled strength & resolve against Russian aggression.
Putin stopped building his Nord Stream 2 pipeline minutes before Trump signed my sanctions legislation into law. #Verdicthttps://t.co/pDx2ekw2V2 pic.twitter.com/Mmj0oQKU3Y
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 24, 2022
Former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry explained recently that Putin’s attack on Ukraine was facilitated by leverage given to him through the energy market.
“#Putin got an assist from incompetent world leaders who propped up #Russia while risking their own energy security,” Perry tweeted.
“By killing the #KeystoneXL pipeline and rubber stamping NS2, the Administration increased Russia’s leverage over global energy markets, which got us here.”
It didn’t have to be this way. The United States can rescue Europe from a looming energy crisis by opening the Keystone XL pipeline and exporting US LNG to provide Europe with a reliable energy supply so they don’t have to rely on #Russia. pic.twitter.com/UDArNB99uE
— Rick Perry (@GovernorPerry) February 24, 2022
Trump responded to the Ukraine-Russia conflict by suggesting the attack never would have happened if he were still in the White House.
“This should have never happened. This would not have happened during my administration,” he said. “In fact, some people are saying why didn’t this take place over the last four years?”
“It’s a sad thing for the world and the country and a lot of people that will be needlessly killed,” he predicted.
This article was originally published by The Political Insider. Read the original article.
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