A group of 44 House Democrats are warning President Trump against curbing joint U.S. military exercises in Europe as a concession to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The lawmakers are all members of the House’s foreign affairs and armed services committees and called the administration’s “signals regarding potential outcomes” ahead of a NATO meeting and Trump-Putin summit in the coming days “deeply concerning.”
The president “must recognize the importance that our forward military presence and joint exercises play in deterring Russia and ensuring military readiness,” the Democrats said in a joint statement. “He must not weaken this posture or suspend or cancel these crucial activities, nor emulate Russian propaganda attempting to discredit them.”
Trump is heading to Europe first for a meeting Thursday with NATO allies whom he has sharply criticized for not spending enough on their national defense, and will then meet with Putin early next week in Helsinki, Finland.
“The U.S. is spending many times more than any other country in order to protect them,” Trump tweeted Wednesday about the European allies. “NATO countries must pay MORE, the United States must pay LESS. Very Unfair!”
Amid the tough spending talk, Trump had reportedly pressed the Pentagon to draw up a plan on withdrawing some of the 35,000 U.S. troops stationed in Germany. But Kay Bailey Hutchison, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said last week that a withdrawal will not be part of the discussions during the president’s trip to Europe.
Last month, Trump made a surprise announcement during his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that U.S. joint military exercises with South Korea would be suspended, calling them expensive and provocative.
Just before that announcement, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had assured the press that U.S. troop levels on the Korean Peninsula would not be on the bargaining table with the North.
Hutchison told reporters that the summit Thursday will focus on NATO’s strength and unity, and that the alliance is focused on the rising threat of Russia and its malign activities abroad.
“I want to emphasize here that everyone in our alliance has the same goal, and that is a strong deterrent, an alliance that is unified that can face any threats that any one of our 29 members might face,” she said.
