Trump Foreign Policy Advisor: 'Americans Are Fed Up With the Bull****'
In an interview with SPIEGEL, Donald Trump advisor Mike Flynn explains why the presumptive Republican Party presidential candidate admires authoritarian leaders and considers the US foreign policy of recent years to be a disaster.
SPIEGEL: Donald Trump announced that if he wins the election, he will not continue trans-Atlantic relations in their current form. He has threatened to withdraw the United States from NATO.
Flynn: This is where I think the world has misread Donald Trump. He has no intention to step away without examining all relationships that we have. His intent is to relook at the way we are organized globally, where the US is sort of expected to be a global leader, but relook at these alliances and these charters that we are under to make sure that they are still viable for the 21st century. It doesn't mean that President Trump comes into office and NATO goes away. But I would say that NATO as a political alliance does need to be relooked at in terms of everything -- resourcing, capabilities.
SPIEGEL: Now you are challenging NATO after all.
Flynn: NATO was formed post-World War II. We're a little bit more than a half-century old. Do we want NATO to go on for another half-century? I think that the answer is, sitting here today: I don't know. If I had to bet on it, I would say, yeah, we have to have these alliances going forward and see who's going to pay for them.
SPIEGEL: Germany obviously plays an important role in Trump's considerations. He addressed Germany specifically and demanded that the German government pay in the future for the security provided by the American troops stationed there -- otherwise they could be withdrawn.
Flynn: We have to look at the cost of resourcing the US military around the world. How is that cost incurred, and how is that cost paid for? I'll give you an example. The Chinese get over 40 percent of their oil from the Middle East through the Persian Gulf, but have you ever seen a Chinese aircraft carrier sitting inside the Persian Gulf? For at least 40 years, the United States of America has been guaranteeing Chinese energy supplies. Sitting here today, the US provides funds to, honest to God, 99 percent of the countries on the planet. We even give North Korea humanitarian aid. We give them food, and God knows what they do with it. They probably feed it to the crooks in the headquarters. This is not about an antagonistic relationship with Germany or NATO. This is about looking and examining what the needs are going forward for the 21st century and who is going pay for it.
SPIEGEL: In December, Trump cursed German Chancellor Angela Merkel, complaining that she was too soft in the refugee crisis. Is that not counterproductive for cooperation?
Flynn: Yes.
SPIEGEL: Beside the factual questions, he was very tough in his language.
Flynn: I think all of Europe has been too soft on the refugee crisis.
SPIEGEL: But he offended Merkel. Does that serve to strengthen alliances?
Flynn: If she was offended by it, she was offended by it. That's the business. But the point was the really incredibly poor decisions when it comes to allowing this unbelievable, unprecedented refugee crisis that's going on in Europe. Why are these people rushing to the beauty and strength of Europe and to the United States and not rushing to their own capitals or the capitals of the Muslim world? We ought to be pushing back. We ought to be putting people back on these boats and putting them back into the places where they came from and telling these leaders in the Arab world, "You have a responsibility as well." I don't think that Europe responded in a way that they should have responded, and I think that's what Mr. Trump was reacting to.
SPIEGEL: Can you explain Trump's fascination for strong leaders like Vladimir Putin or Saddam Hussein, whom he recently praised as an effective hunter of terrorists?
more
SPIEGEL Interview - SPIEGEL ONLINE
