“We still hate it” – Trump’s NATO weapon deal sparks the wrath

Some conservative members of Donald Trump’s Make American Great Again have reacted angrily to the President’s plans to sell NATO weapons, claiming that it is a betrayal of his promise to end the US involvement in foreign wars.

On Monday, Trump said he would send Weapons for Ukraine via NATO, while threatening Russia with more tariffs if a war deal is not reached in 50 days.

The Republican Congress of Congress Marjorie Taylor Green, a key ally of Trump, and the former Trump strategist Steve Bannon are among those who criticize the decision, as Bannon tells the listeners of his podcast that Ukraine is a “European War”.

The White House stressed that Europe will pay for the US weapons.

In an interview with The New York TimesGreen, a member of the isolationist of the Georgia Congress, who is one of Trump’s most loyal supporters on the Capitol hill – said this move was at odds with what the voters had promised in the campaign traces.

“It’s not just Ukraine; in general, everything is foreign wars and a lot of foreign help,” she said. “This is what we agitated for. This is what I promised in my area as well. That’s what everyone voted for. And I believe we have to maintain the course.”

Trump tried to emphasize that weapons would be paid, not provided as a direct help, saying on Monday: “We do not buy it, but we will produce it and they will pay for it.”

But in a rare public disagreement with President Green, he expressed skepticism that US taxpayers would ultimately avoid any costs in social media publication criticizing “rear transactions through NATO”.

“Without a shadow of doubt, our tax dollars are used,” she told the New York Times, arguing that indirect costs like US training missions and load contributions are qualified as US involvement.

“I said it at every stage of rally: there is no more money for Ukraine. We want peace. We just want peace for these people,” she said. “And guess what? People haven’t changed.”

A former Trump campaign employee speaking on condition of anonymity to PoliticoHe said the purchase of weapons in Europe “softened” the anger of Trump’s isolationists.

“But we still hate him,” the employee said. “This is not our war and escalation is not in the interest of America.”

Steve Bannon, a former Trump advisor, said in his podcast in the military room that “Ukraine is becoming so dangerous.”

“This is a European war. Let Europe handle it,” he said. “They have resources. They have the workforce.”

“We are about to arm the people we literally have no control over,” Bannon told Ukraine. “This is an old -fashioned, grinding war in the blood zones of Europe – and we are dragging into it.”

In a statement quoted by Politico, White Deputy Crescer Anna Kelly said the Trump Magic base “is not a panic like the media.”

“They trust Trump and know that this president is restoring peace through force.”

The BBC contacted the White House for comment.

A White House employee who spoke to Politico, provided anonymity, did not agree that the president’s base opposed his moves. They pointed out A recent poll that suggested Nearly two -thirds of Trump’s voters support continuing to send weapons to Ukraine.

Officials in the Trump administration have also defended the President’s decision, and under Defense Minister Elbridge Colby wrote to X that “America’s first message is that our alliances should be honest and fair.”

“It’s extremely reasonable, but it’s been treated for many years as heresy,” he added. “Still, with NATO’s historical commitment, we see that it can work.”

This recent NATO leaders’ commitment to increase defense costs to 5% of their economic production was praised by Trump’s supporters on Monday, who claim that even with the new weapons deal, Europe assumes more responsibility for its protection.

And in an exclusive interview with BBC On Monday, just hours after meeting NATO chief Mark Rute in the White House, Trump said the union now “pays their own bills.”

He confirmed his support for the general principle of the organization’s defense and said it was “disappointed but not made” with Russian Vladimir Putin.

The president said he thought a deal to end the war in Ukraine was on cards with Russia four different times.