Sen. Cory Gardner praised the relationship between the U.S. and European allies on Thursday, after President Trump’s tough talk at the NATO summit.
“Nobody is going to be able to drive a wedge between the United States and our allies in NATO,” Mr. Gardner said during an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
The Colorado senator touted the recent resolution passed 97-2 in the Senate on Tuesday promoting the U.S. commitment to NATO. He noted that the president shared similar sentiments in his impromptu press briefing Thursday.
However, Mr. Gardner did reaffirm that member states need to contribute more to NATO.
“We can’t care more about the security of Europe than Europe does,” he said, “but we also have to be sure we’re not the only ones funding the piggy bank.”
While he praised the president’s work in Brussels, the senator was clear of what he wanted Mr. Trump to do in Helsinki during his meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Gardner blamed the foreign government for the nerve agent exposure in England, the loss of lives in Syria, and the annexation of Crimea. He said the meeting is Mr. Trump’s chance to tell Mr. Putin the U.S. disagrees with Russia’s “continued violations of international law.”
“It needs to be that way,” Mr. Gardner said, “I think the president needs to be very firm.”
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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