![CNN Political Commentator SE Cupp claimed Monday that former President Donald Trump tricked Americans to stop caring about America. [Screenshot CNN]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-12-at-10.14.35-AM-e1707750921238.png "CNN Political Commentator SE Cupp claimed Monday that former President Donald Trump tricked Americans to stop caring about America. [Screenshot CNN]")
CNN Political Commentator S.E. Cupp claimed Monday that former President Donald Trump tricked Americans to stop caring about America.
The panel began talking about recent comments from Trump in which he said he would not protect NATO members who do not pay their dues.
“No, I would not protect you. In fact I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay,” Trump said, according to Reuters. Reuters claims Trump was referring to Russia with his “encourage them” remark.
CNN then played a clip from Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio defending Trump’s comments
Cupp first argued Trump doesn’t know what an “ally” is and only cares about personal loyalty to him, before a fellow panelist argued that Rubio’s defense of Trump showed Republicans don’t care about international security interests. (RELATED: NATO Secretary General Pitches US On Need For European Support To Counter China In Talk At Heritage Foundation)
“This is the really amazing trick that Donald Trump has managed to pull off. First he managed to get conservatives to stop caring about conservatism. Then he got Christians to stop caring about scripture, the Bible, what would Jesus do. Now Jesus is woke,” Cupp claimed. “He got Republicans and Americans to stop caring about America and what democracy should mean. And in this instance, he got the patriotic, military-loving far right to stop caring about national security and to stop caring about our servicemen and women, our troops. I mean, it’s a feat what Donald Trump has done to the right in this country in a very short period of time.”
Approximately 31 NATO member nations fail to meet the defense spending target of at least 2% of gross domestic product while the United States foots the bill, Reuters reported.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates called Trump’s comments “appalling and unhinged” and argued it “endangers American national security, global stability, and our economy at home,” according to The Associated Press.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also addressed the former president’s comments. “Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the U.S., and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” the alliance’s chief wrote in a statement, according to The Hill.