WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says NATO benefits Europe more than the United States, as he prepares to meet with treaty allies in Brussels.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday from the White House before departing Washington for Europe, Trump says of the 69-year old trans-Atlantic mutual defense pact, "Frankly it helps them a lot more than it helps us."
Responding to criticism from Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, who complained that Trump is "criticizing Europe almost daily," Trump says the United States is "being taken advantage of" by the European Union.
Trump says he is referring to the trade imbalance with Europe and the American contribution to NATO.