Trump Warns Critics Like Lindsey Graham To ‘Be Very Careful With Their Mouth’
President Donald Trump issued a warning to critics like former State Secretary Mike Pompeo and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to be “very careful with their mouth” when encouraging Ukraine to continue fighting against Russia.
As he waits out a self-styled two-week deadline for a decision on whether to strike Iran, Trump headed to his Trump National Golf Club resort in Bedminster, New Jersey on Friday afternoon for a closed-door MAGA Inc. dinner.
Trump answered questions from reporters after he arrived at the Morristown, NJ, airport, including one reporter who asked about NATO countries’ defense spending.
Another reporter accused Pompeo and Graham — both Ukraine hawks — of “trying to provoke” Ukraine to fight harder against Russia, drawing a warning from Trump:
REPORTER: Is it still your expectation that NATO countries spend 5% of their GDP on defense spending?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, I think they should do that. I don’t think we should, but I think that they should. We’ve been spending, we’ve been supporting NATO so long. In many cases, I believe paying almost 100% the cost. So I don’t think we shoud, but I think that the NATO countries should, absolutely.
What if a country like Spain decides not to? Well, NATO’s going to have to deal with Spain. Spain’s been a very low payer. They were always a very lower payer. They were either good negotiators or they weren’t doing the right thing.
I mean, I think Spain has to pay what everybody else has to pay. Spain has been notorious for low pay. You know who else was a low payer, just about the lowest? A place called Canada. Because Canada said, why should we pay when the United States will protect us free? And what they write about that. Nice!
REPORTER: You’ve been making progress towards a peace deal, but I don’t know if you noticed, but Lindsey Graham and Mike Pompeo were there on the ground in Ukraine, seemingly doing the opposite, trying to provoke the Ukrainians to keep fighting. What do you think of that?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, we’re going to see, and people have to be very careful with what they say. They’ve got to be careful with their mouth! Because their mouth can get them into a lot of trouble!
Watch above via C-SPAN.
