‘It can be loaned on extraordinarily good terms, like no interest and an unlimited life, but a loan nevertheless,’ the former president wrote.
Former President Donald Trump has called on the U.S. Congress to stop gifting U.S. aid to foreign nations without any “strings” attached.
“From this point forward, are you listening U.S. Senate(?), no money in the form of foreign aid should be given to any country unless it is done as a loan, not just a giveaway,” the 45th president said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Feb. 10, calling particularly for the Senate’s attention.
“It can be loaned on extraordinarily good terms, like no interest and an unlimited life, but a loan nevertheless.
“The deal should be (Contingent!) that the U.S. is helping you as a nation, but if the country we are helping ever turns against us, or strikes it rich sometime in the future, the loan will be paid off and the money returned to the United States,” President Trump said.
The suggestion comes as the GOP front-runner and leader of the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement campaigns for the 2024 presidency with a foreign policy record that caused somewhat of a stir on the international stage.
As the 45th president of the United States, President Trump pushed many contrarian views on the world stage, questioning why the United States has been expected to fund more than its fair share in multilateral efforts. He said at the time that he believed many of the international platforms were no longer serving the U.S. interests he wanted to prioritize, such as providing benefit to U.S. producers and manufacturing over those of other countries.
His repositioning to an “America First” policy in international dealings caused a stir with many partner nations. But over time, President Trump’s criticisms and policies have seen a reshuffling of agreements among allies, including greater investment by partner nations in intergovernmental institutions like NATO.
“We should never give money anymore without the hope of a payback, or without ‘strings’ attached,” President Trump said. “The United States of America should be ‘stupid’ no longer.”
The comment came ahead of President Trump’s campaign rally in Conway, South Carolina, on Saturday afternoon, after a $118 billion foreign security package recently failed in the Senate after he expressed opposition to it.
By Melanie Sun
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