‘He ended with a confused whimper’: How Donald Trump was left humiliated at NATO summit

The US President walked into the NATO summit on a high. But Donald Trump left completely humiliated.

US President Donald Trump was confident as he entered the NATO summit, having claimed credit for major changes in the alliance’s defence spending.

But the President suffered a series of missteps throughout the two-day event.

He was publicly schooled by French President Emmanuel Macron on Islamic State. Viral footage showed world leaders and royalty appearing to mock him behind his back. He was reportedly snubbed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who did not want to be photographed with him.

It all seemed to signify that global leaders are increasingly less concerned with taking Mr Trump seriously and showing diplomacy. And then to top it all off? The President ghosted one of the most important parts of the event.

In a surprising move, Mr Trump cancelled his final press conference scheduled for the end of the two-day summit and stalked back to Washington early, not long after his fellow world leaders’ harsh words were caught on camera.

....When today’s meetings are over, I will be heading back to Washington. We won’t be doing a press conference at the close of NATO because we did so many over the past two days. Safe travels to all!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2019

HOW TRUMP WAS HUMILIATED AT NATO

Initially, Mr Trump appeared to emerge victorious from the global leaders’ summit.

Three days before the gathering, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed a shift in the organisation’s expense burden sharing.

“It’s correct that we have now agreed a new formula for sharing those costs,” Mr Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. “The US will pay less. Germany will pay more. So now the US and Germany will pay the same, roughly 16 per cent of NATO’s budget.”

Starting in 2021, the US will be paying $US150 million less for NATO’s annual $2.5 billion maintenance than its current contribution — a shift the President has long been pushing for.

Mr Trump has since touted this as a sign his NATO visit was successful, tweeting that he’d earned the US “deep respect” at the summit:

The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to belittle my VERY successful trip to London for NATO. I got along great with the NATO leaders, even getting them to pay $130 Billion a year more, & $400 Billion a year more in 3 years. No increase for U.S., only deep respect!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2019

.@NATO has now recognized SPACE as an operational domain and the alliance is STRONGER for it. U.S. leadership ensures peace through strength and we must continue to show strength and WIN on all fronts – land, air, sea, and SPACE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2019

But the series of misshaps the president suffered at the global event have not been ignored.

He was publicly taken to task by French President Emmanuel Macron as the pair discussed Islamic State (IS) on the global stage.

Mr Macron rubbished the US leader’s ongoing claim that IS has been defeated, stating: “I think No. 1 priority, because it’s not yet finished, is to get rid of ISIS and these terrorist groups. This is our No. 1 priority. And it’s not yet done. I’m sorry to say that.”

He also corrected Mr Trump on the subject of foreign IS numbers imprisoned in Syria.

“Many are from France, many are from Germany, many are from UK,” Mr Trump said. “They’re mostly from Europe, and some of the countries are agreeing. I have not spoken to (Macron) about that.”

The US President then turned to Mr Macron and added: “Would you like some nice ISIS fighters? I can give them to you. You can take every one you want.”

Mr Macron replied: “Let’s be serious. The very large numbers of fighters you have on the ground are the fighters coming from Syria, from Iraq and the region.”

He eventually concluded that only a tiny number of foreign fighters had come from Europe, noting they represented “a tiny minority of the overall problem we have in the region”.

US President Donald Trump was publicly taken to task by French President Emmanuel Macron as the pair discussed Islamic State (IS) on the global stage.

In a separate incident, the British Conservative Party reportedly went to great lengths to distance British leader Boris Johnson from the US President.

According to Politico, Mr Johnson only wanted to meet with Mr Trump “well away from prying cameras”.

“In fact, Johnson was so keen not to be photographed with the US President that he did not even greet him at the door when he and wife Melania arrived at No. 10,” the report stated.

The only photo of Mr Johnson and Mr Trump together at the summit came in the form of this group snap:

NATO world leaders pictured together.

But the biggest upset of all came after a group of world leaders were filmed apparently gossiping about Mr Trump.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught on camera speaking to Mr Johnson, Mr Macron, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Britain’s Princess Anne at a reception for NATO leaders at Buckingham Palace.

“Is that why you were late?” Mr Johnson could be heard asking Mr Macron as he wandered up to the group, in what is assumed to be a reference to a press conference the French President held with the US leader.

Mr Trudeau interjected: “He was late because he (Trump) takes a 40-minute press conference off the top … oh yeah, yeah, yeah, he announced …”

Some of the comments are inaudible, but Mr Trudeau can be heard saying: “You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor.”

Mr Trump’s name cannot be heard, however the comments are widely assumed to be about the US leader’s extraordinary press conference on Tuesday morning, where he said Mr Macron was being “insulting” and “dangerous” by referring to the NATO alliance as “brain dead”.

This grab shows Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (L), French President Emmanuel Macron (front), British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (back-C) appearing to mock Donald Trump behind his back.

This was ultimately the worst incident to set Mr Trump off. He deemed the Canadian leader “two-faced”, though added he thought Mr Trudeau was a “nice guy” and was probably “not very happy” that he had been called out over not meeting NATO’s two per cent spending thresholds.

He then cancelled his final news conference and abruptly ghosted the event, leaving several questions in his wake.

Defense One executive editor Kevin Baron said the abrupt exit was far more defining than a few world leaders insulting him behind his back, stating that Mr Trump ultimately went out with a “confused whimper”.

“No other world leader at these gatherings is as anticipated for that moment as the American president. It’s where he shapes the public spin on what just happened. It’s his final report of what he wants, what the US wants, what NATO members believe, and where things stand with US-Franco-German relations,” he said.

“It’s a moment to lead. It’s a moment to signal your priorities to your nations and your adversaries.

“Instead, the NATO 70th anniversary meeting ends with a confused whimper.”

Baron also said Mr Trump left important questions unanswered by not hosting a final press conference: Which countries did the President speak to, who confirmed they would not be going forward with Huawei network technology? Where exactly does he stand on a new nuclear missile pact with Russia? What is involved in “reflection process” he referred to among NATO leaders, that he allegedly initiated?

Denying himself the last word means we may not get those answers.