Analysis: Trump’s questionable claims of success

“I’ve taken over a lot of bad hands and I’m fixing each one of them, and I’m fixing them well,” Trump said during a hastily called press conference Thursday. “What they’re doing is spending at a much faster clip. They’re going up to the 2 per cent level.”

But statements from NATO allies suggested there was little cause for Trump’s self-congratulation.

French President Emmanuel Macron denied there were any new spending commitments.

He said: “There is a communique that was published yesterday. It’s very detailed. It confirms the goal of 2 per cent by 2024. That’s all.”

That 2024 goal had been set in 2014.

Instead of new pledges, NATO members appeared to try to placate Trump by giving him a share of the credit for progress that had already been under way.

“I made clear that we know that we have to do more and that we have been doing so for quite a while,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “That turning point has long been initiated.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg demurred when asked what Trump had accomplished, saying the allies “agree that we need to deliver on our commitments.”

He did allow, though, that there was “a new sense of urgency” about increasing military spending.

Trump’s boasts of achievement have come under question before.

North Korea has yet to take substantial steps to dismantle its nuclear arsenal, and on Thursday appeared to backtrack on a pledge to repatriate the remains of American war dead — a move that Trump weeks ago said the North had already undertaken. A letter from Kim that Trump tweeted out Thursday heralded the “start of a meaningful journey” between the two nations, but made no mention of denuclearization.

Trump’s tweet: “A very nice note from Chairman Kim of North Korea. Great progress being made!”

The display at NATO shows how Trump, who views himself as a world-class negotiator, likes to play both good cop and bad cop himself. On Wednesday, he showed up at a breakfast meeting with Stoltenberg steaming mad, charmed allies at a black-tie dinner that evening, and sent them reeling Thursday morning, only to praise their efforts hours later.

That mercurial side of Trump is less likely to be experienced Monday by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Trump has been anticipating a sit-down for weeks.

The president set himself a low bar for what he’ll achieve in Moscow, telling reporters: “I think we go into that meeting looking for not so much.” He said it could lead to “something very productive — and maybe it’s not.”

His diplomatic team argues the meeting in itself should be seen as notable achievement, so look for more grand proclamations next week.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite told reporters she’s comfortable with the Trump-Putin summit, but it “depends very much on outcomes.”

“These two people are very different, very interestingly different,” she said. “Hopefully nothing bad happens.”

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Miller reported from Washington.

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EDITOR’S NOTE — Miller, Lemire and Colvin cover the White House for The Associated Press.

An AP News Analysis

Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin And Jonathan Lemire, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Analysis: Trump’s questionable claims of success

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