President Trump gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel a fake IOU for money her country owes the United States for NATO, but Merkel ignored the bill, according to a published report.
Trump and Merkel met for the first time last weekend in Washington. A major talking point from Trump during the campaign is that the United States pays more than its share for NATO defenses.
He has urged other countries to pay more for their defense, hence the ¢300 billion “bill” he presented to Merkel, according to the Times of London report.
Merkel took the bill calmly and didn’t respond to the symbolic demand for additional money.
NATO countries did agree back in 2014 to increase spending to at least 2 percent of gross domestic product.
However, last year only five countries met that goal, with the U.S. spending the most among all 28 members at 3.61 percent of GDP, according to NATO figures.
