Donald Trump has claimed that the European
Union was created to “beat the United States
when it comes to making money” in an
interview with NBC News.

Speaking to Chuck Todd, whom the Republican
nominee has repeatedly berated as “sleepy-
eyed”, Trump also said of the EU “the reason
that it got together was like a consortium so that
it could compete with the United States”.

The European Union was founded as the
European Coal and Steel Community in 1952 in
an effort to promote strong cross-border ties in
Europe and avoid future wars. It has since
evolved to a customs union and eventually to
the transnational entity devoted to removing
internal trade barriers, building a common
market and a fiscal union. Its development and
growth has been repeatedly supported by the
United States under presidents of both parties.

Trump’s anti-European statements come after
the Republican nominee repeatedly praised
Brexit, the vote by the United Kingdom to leave
the European Union, including in a press
conference in the day after the referendum held
at a Trump golf course in Scotland.

In the interview, Trump defended his recent
attacks on Nato, saying that countries in the
organization needed to pay more to the United
States in order for Washington to meet its treaty
obligations of mutual defense. In doing so,
Trump called Senate majority leader Mitch
McConnell “100% wrong” for rebutting his
comments earlier this week. The Kentucky
senator told Politico : “Nato is the most
important military alliance in world history. I
want to reassure our Nato allies that if any of
them get attacked, we’ll be there to defend
them.”

Trump also called both the World Trade
Organization and Nafta “disasters”.

The Republican nominee also said that his call
to ban people from the United States from “any
nation that has been compromised by
terrorism” was an expansion on his infamous
Muslim ban of December, 2015. “I actually
don’t think it’s a rollback. In fact, you could say
it’s an expansion,” said Trump. He added: “I’m
looking now at territory. People were so upset
when I used the word Muslim. Oh, you can’t
use the word Muslim. Remember this. And I’m
okay with that, because I’m talking territory
instead of Muslim.”

Trump also stood by longtime friend Roger
Ailes , who left Fox News this week after being
accused of sexual harassment by a number of
former and current employees. “He’s been a
friend of mine for a long time,” said Trump.
The Republican nominee went on to describe
the situation as “very sad. Because he’s a very
good person. I’ve always found him to be just a
very, very good person”.

Trump added: “I feel very badly. But a lot of
people are thinking he’s going to run my
campaign.”

He also confirmed reports that he would seek
revenge against former presidential nominee
rivals John Kasich and Ted Cruz by funding a
super PAC in the 2018 cycle to help defeat their
respective attempts to win the gubernatorial
election in Ohio and US Senate election in
Texas.

“I’ll probably do a super PAC, you know, when
they run against Kasich, for $10m to $20m,
against Ted Cruz,” said Trump. “And maybe
one other person that I’m thinking about.”
Trump also initially hedged on whether he’d
support the Senate candidacy of former Ku Klux
Klan candidate David Duke, who announced
Friday that he would mount a bid as a
Republican in his home state of Louisiana.
When asked: “Would you support a Democrat
over David Duke,” Trump responded: “I guess,
depending on who the Democrat was, but the
answer would be yes.”

Duke has cited Trump as an inspiration for his
candidacy and is a long-time endorser. The
Republican nominee has faced controversy
during his campaign for his unwillingness to
condemn Duke at times.


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/24/donald-trump-eu-was-formed-to-beat-the-us-at-making-money

whatever suits him...