Bernd Debusmann Jr
BBC News
Some conservative members of Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement have reacted angrily to the president’s plans to sell weapons to Nato, arguing it is a betrayal of his promise to end US involvement in foreign wars.
On Monday, Trump said he would send weapons to Ukraine via Nato, while also threatening Russia with more tariffs if a deal to end the war is not reached in 50 days.
Republican Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene, a key Trump ally, and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon are among those who have criticised the decision, with Bannon telling his podcast listeners that Ukraine is a “European war”.
The White House has emphasised that Europe will pay for the US-made weapons.
In an interview with the New York Times, Greene – an isolationist member of Congress from Georgia who has been one of the most loyal Trump supporters on Capitol Hill – said the move was at odds with what she had promised voters on the campaign trail.
“It’s not just Ukraine; it’s all foreign wars in general and a lot of foreign aid,” she said. “This is what we campaigned on. This is what I promised also to my district. This is what everybody voted for. And I believe we have to maintain the course.”
