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During a rally in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday, Trump said the policies of Democratic challenger Joe Biden would put the United States in a “depression” and weaken its strength on the international stage.
“He wants them to hand over our country to China, to all these countries that have totally taken advantage of us,” said President Trump, as the crowd began to boo.
“You know in many ways that our allies treat us worse than the enemy. The enemy at least we have our guard up. Our allies, what they have done to us in terms of military protection and trade is a disgrace.
“And when they come out and say they like Barack Hussein Obama much more than they like Trump, that means I am doing my job,” the president said as the boos escalated at the rally.
There does not appear to be any recent report linking any member of the German government to comments that the country prefers Obama to President Trump.
The independent has contacted the Trump campaign to clarify what President Trump meant by that comment.
However, a recent Pew Research Center poll found that the favorability rating of residents of US allied countries has dropped dramatically in recent years.
The survey found that only 41 percent of people in the UK, 31 percent in Canada, and 26 percent in Germany have a favorable opinion of the United States.
The only time America’s favorability rating in Germany was lower in the past 20 years was when it was at 25 percent in March 2003, when tensions over the Iraq war were at their highest.
Trump added: “Now Germany said it the other day, and I have roots in Germany, but Germany said it the other day. They like Barack Hussein Obama, and they should because Germany is behind on its NATO payments, so far behind.
“They are at a medium level and they are very rich, they can do whatever they want, it’s not that they don’t have money. And I called them and told them that if they didn’t pay, I would start pulling out our troops, ”as the crowd in Tampa cheered.
Earlier this year, President Trump announced his administration’s intention to withdraw up to 12,000 US military personnel from Germany.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the decision was part of a long-term Pentagon plan, but President Trump insisted it was punishment for what he considered low defense spending for the country.
“We don’t want to be stupid anymore,” the president told reporters at the White House in July. “We are reducing the force because they are not paying their bills; It’s very simple.”
NATO countries have agreed to meet a defense spending target of 2% of GDP by 2024, but so far Germany, along with many other countries in the alliance, has only achieved spending of 1.57% of GDP.
Reacting to the administration’s plans earlier in the year, the chairman of Germany’s foreign affairs committee said that would “weaken the NATO alliance.”
The troops will be redeployed to other NATO countries, including Belgium, Spain and Italy, while more than 6,000 will be sent back to the United States.
Both Trump and Biden held demonstrations in the state of Florida on Thursday, which the president will likely have to win in order to have a chance of being reelected on November 3.
President Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in Florida in 2016 by less than two percentage points, but current polls give Biden an advantage in the state with just five days left in the national election.
CNN’s Poll Poll, which tracks the average of poll results across all polls, currently shows the Democratic candidate with an advantage over President Trump in Florida of 49 to 45 percent.
