(HorizonPost.com) – In a recent social media post, Donald Trump cited the country’s $34 trillion national debt to suggest that all US aid to foreign countries should be loans instead of “giveaways,” Just the News reported.
Posting to his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday, Trump called on the United States Senate not to approve any foreign aid unless it is offered as a loan. He suggested that such foreign loans could be offered at “extraordinarily good terms,” including zero interest and “an unlimited life.”
Trump said any foreign aid loan should also be contingent on whether the country remains loyal to the United States. He suggested that any country that “turns against us” or “strikes it rich” after the loan is given must immediately pay off the loan.
He said the US should never give aid to a country that has no hope of paying it back, nor should the US provide aid “without ‘strings’ attached.”
The national debt exceeded $34 trillion in late December, according to data published by the Department of Treasury. The milestone came just three months after the national debt topped $33 trillion.
The Senate is currently debating a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes funding for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, as well as additional humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Trump’s comments on foreign loans came on the same day he riled both Democrats and Republicans by suggesting that he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that failed to pay the required amount on defense.
While campaigning in South Carolina on Saturday, Trump recounted a meeting he had with other NATO leaders when he was president and claimed that one leader asked him if his country was attacked by Russia would the United States protect them if his country wasn’t paying enough to NATO’s defense.
Trump claimed that he told the leader that if his country didn’t pay, it would be “delinquent” and therefore the United States would not protect his country. He added that he told the leader that he would even encourage the Russians “to do whatever the hell they want.”
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