EU-US Relations: Trump claims EU was formed so member states could treat U.S. 'badly'

While addressing the nation's governors at the White House on Monday, President Trump took a shot at the European Union and NATO.

NATO, he said, was "going down like a rocket ship" before he came in and saved the day by convincing other member states to contribute more money.

But he seemed generally pleased with the direction things are going. That's not the case for the EU, which Trump claimed is treating the United States "very badly."

Trump even argued one of the "primary reasons" the EU was formed was so its member states could pick on the U.S, which is a claim that doesn't really have much going for it historically. The EU is the final stage of a progression of a continent-wide economic community that was first implemented in the aftermath of World War II. Seeking to avoid a third conflict on such a scale, European leaders at the time sought to create a cooperative system in which countries could trade with little hindrance.

Eventually, that morphed into the current EU, which has expanded beyond just economic unity.

Trump with this statement is talking out of his lower body part. The supranational organization obviously hasn't always seen eye to eye with the U.S. on all matters, but it's a reach to say those disagreements were the reason it was formed in the first place.

EU-Digest

Britain furious, Trump unapologetic as fallout swells from anti-Muslim videos - by Karla Adam and William Booth

Trump Twitter Mania Continues unabated

The British revolt against President Trump swelled Thursday with Parliament members openly deriding him and Britain’s prime minister standing by her denunciations of Trump’s retweets of a fringe group’s anti-Muslim videos.

Prime Minister Theresa May blasted Trump for crossing a line by posting the inflammatory videos on his Twitter page Wednesday — and then warning May to essentially mind her own business and focus on Islamist terrorism instead of him.

But officials were careful to note that ties with the United States are stronger than the current flare-up with the White House.

“It’s increasingly clear that any official visit from President Trump to Britain would not be welcomed,” tweeted London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim to hold the office. Khan has repeatedly called for Britain to withdraw an invitation for Trump to visit — and his stance appeared to gain backing amid the outrage against the president.

In a sign of the disruptive wake unleashed by Trump, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd had to remind Parliament and the public that Britain’s relationship with the United States was bigger than one president — and that important trade, security and intelligence sharing are ongoing.

Note EU-Digest: The statement issued by the British Home Secretary Amber Rudd in the British House of Parliament, was weak and insufficient. Britain should at least have presented an official note of protest to the US Ambassador in Britain and request apologies from the US Government for the insane and racially slanted Twitter messages by President Trump. The US President must not be allowed, at least by the international community, to get away with this nonsense.

Read more: Britain furious, Trump unapologetic as fallout swells from anti-Muslim videos  - The Washington Post

USA: Hannity of Fox News: "Deep state's massive effort to destroy Trump"

Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Friday night slammed news outlets like The New York Times and CNN as “willing accomplices” for the deep state that is intent on damaging President Trump’s presidency by leaking, in many cases, misinformation to the American public.

“The major news outlets, citing unnamed sources, “have all gotten it wrong on this issue,” Hannity said. “They all, at this point with the American public, should have zero credibility.”

The “deep state,” an alleged shadowy network of powerful entrenched federal and military interests, has increasingly become the focus of Republicans who accuse such forces of trying to undermine the new president. Though senior White House staff members don’t use the exact label, the notion behind it has taken hold.

To Trump’s critics, these assertions come off as paranoid fear of a non-existent shadow government and an effort to create a scapegoat for the White House’s struggles. But to Trump’s supporters, this represents an overdue challenge to an elite ruling class concerned only with maintaining its own grasp on power.

Hannity said the public should take these “smoking gun” reports that appear to break every night “with a grain of salt.”

Note EU-Digest: Total nonsense by Fox News. President Trump shoots himself in the foot over and over again and he himself is his number one enemy.

Read more: Hannity: Deep state's massive effort to destroy Trump | Fox News