A former defense minister from the UK didn’t hold back in expressing his views, saying Donald Trump is favoring Russia over Britain’s allies.
Ben Wallace expressed his frustration regarding Trump’s upcoming second state visit to the UK, a historic milestone set to kick off on Tuesday.
His remarks came after Trump urged NATO countries to impose sky-high tariffs—up to 100%—on Chinese exports, only to be revoked once the Ukraine conflict settles down.
On Truth Social, Trump characterized it as “Biden and Zelenskyy’s war,” despite it all beginning with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine back in February 2022.
He declared, “If NATO does as I say, the WAR will end quickly, and lives will be saved! If not, you’re just wasting my time and the resources of the United States.”
Shashank Joshi, the defense editor at The Economist, chimed in on X, stating that Trump is putting forward impractical demands for NATO with respect to imposing sanctions on Russia. He emphasized that NATO allies are not going to enforce 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, indicating that Trump might not follow through on his accusations.
In response, Wallace remarked, “Trump never intended to get Putin to change his ways. It was clear from the very beginning, yet the [Foreign Office] seems to grapple with reality as they want, not as it really is. Thus, we have a planned state visit for a person who supports our enemy, rather than our allies.”
Prior to his election as president last year, Trump asserted he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours if he returned to office.
However, despite his various attempts to broker peace—including a warm welcome for Vladimir Putin during a summit in Alaska—the conflict persists.
Just last week, Poland reported intercepting Russian attack drones that had intruded into its airspace.
