Q. And do you know if the President also had concerns about whether the allies of Ukraine, in this example, were contributing their fair share? A. That's another factor in the foreign affairs review is appropriate burden sharing. But it was not, in the deputies committee meeting, OMB [the U.S. Office of Management and Budget] did not really explain why they were taking the position other than they had been directed to do so.
Q. Okay. You are aware of the President's skeptical views on foreign assistance? Right?
A. Absolutely.
Q. And that's a genuinely held belief, correct?
A. It is what guided the foreign affairs review.
Q. Okay. It's not just related to Ukraine?
A. Absolutely not. It's global in nature.[1]
2. President Trump has been clear and consistent in his view that Europe should pay its fair share for regional defense.
Since his 2016 presidential campaign, President Trump has emphasized his view that U.S. foreign assistance should be spent wisely and cautiously. As President, he has continued to be critical of sending U.S. taxpayer dollars to foreign countries and asked our allies to share the financial burden for international stewardship.
In a March 2016 interview with the New York Times, then-candidate Trump said: "Now, I'm a person that—you notice I talk about economics quite a bit [in foreign policy] because it is about economics, because we don't have money anymore because we've been taking care of so many people in so many different forms that we don't have money."[2] Then-candidate Trump elaborated about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a collective defense alliance between the U.S., Canada, and European countries:
I mean, we defend everybody. (Laughs.) We defend everybody. No matter who it is, we defend everybody. We're defending the world. But we owe, soon, it's soon to be $21 trillion. You know, it's 19 now but it's soon to be $21 trillion. But we defend everybody. When in doubt, come to the United States. We'll defend you. In some cases
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