President Donald Trump's opening statements during a breakfast with NATO officials should not have come as a surprise to anyone, as they were "exactly the same statements" he made during his 2016 campaign, Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday.
"Most of us don't expect a president to serve on the platform he ran on," the Iowa Republican told CNN'S "New Day." "This president is serving on that platform, trying to carry out his promises, and he made very clear a year ago that they ought to spend more, so they're spending more."
As a result, said Grassley, "NATO is stronger now than before President Trump became president."
He added that if NATO nations are worried about the United States in connection with the president's tone, they can turn to the tone of the Senate, which Wednesday night gave nearly unanimous support to NATO and recognized the cooperation of the United States' allies. The motion of support passed with a 97-2 vote, reports CNN, with GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, voting against the measure.
However, Grassley said he does not think the vote detracts from what Trump is trying to accomplish, or that there is a "single member" of the Senate who doesn't think Trump is right by trying to get NATO to spend what the law requires.
"That should be a foregone conclusion by any of us, if you want NATO to be strong you have to put up or shut up," said Grassley.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said recently that NATO members have paid the most toward the alliance than they have in a generation, "New Day" co-host Alisyn Camerota pointed out, and Grassley said Trump gets the credit for that happening.
"The previous presidents, even George W. Bush and [Barack] Obama, one Republican, one Democrat, didn't push as hard as this president is pushing it," said Grassley. "During that period of time Russia was not in Crimea. Russia was not in Ukraine, Russia was not threatening the Baltics. Look at what Russia has done since then. It puts additional need for NATO to deliver on it."
Grassley wouldn't say if he is comfortable with Trump's tone, and that how he feels doesn't make a difference.
"The president of the United States is doing what he said he ought to do, and the people voted for him and he's trying to deliver on that," said Grassley. "Wouldn't you want a president who is delivering what he promised?"
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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