German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke Friday morning in Munich, Germany, at the 56th Munich Security Conference, and started off with a slam to Trump’s foreign policy “America First.”
“Our closest ally, the United States of America, under the current administration, rejects the very concept of the international community,” he said. ”‘Great again’ but at the expense of neighbors and partners,” Steinmeier added …. “Thinking and acting this way hurts us all.”
In attendance were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Adam Schiff along with other representatives, making it the largest U.S. delegation to attend the forum.
Steinmeier also had harsh words for Russia and China, accusing them of raising global insecurity in the pursuit of “great power.”
“In this scenario, the security of one is the insecurity of others,” he said, adding that European leaders must create a unified policy to deal with increasing threats posed by Russia and China.
He also spoke of the importance of NATO, the world’s most important military alliance. Trump has singled out German Chancellor Angela Merkel for not meeting the 2% of GDP spending goal to support NATO, while there are 18 other countries who have not met the goal.
Steinmeier said that while Germany should continue to raise its defense spending, it should not be “the be-all end-all for our security.”