Trump Inspires Confusion at NATO and Anger in London
*By Alisha Haridasani*
President Trump on Thursday wrapped the NATO summit, leaving behind a trail of confusion, and landed in London where he faces chaos and anger.
The president, despite hurling [criticism](https://cheddar.com/videos/trump-wastes-no-time-attacking-allies-at-nato-summit-in-brussels) at the military alliance for days, reaffirmed American commitment to the organization.
“I believe in NATO,” he said in an press conference in Brussels. He then went on to proclaim that NATO members had agreed to increasing their defense spending.
Moments later, though, French president Emmanuel Macron disputed Trump’s claims, saying all 29 members had re-committed to the previous spending target of 2 percent of their GDP.
The confusion was further compounded by Trump's reported behavior in private meetings with NATO leaders, where he was characteristically combative and threatened to pull out of the alliance unless members met their 2 percent targets by January.
Trump is now in London to meet with Prime Minister Theresa May in what is his first visit to the British capital since becoming president.
May was the first foreign leader to visit Trump at the White House in 2017 and invited him to visit her country in an attempt to solidify the decades-long 'special relationship' between the UK and the U.S.
Trump, however, soured that relationship many times. He slammed London Mayor Sadiq Khan for mishandling the aftermath of the June terror attack in the British capital. Trump also controversially retweeted a video from a far-right British party, a move that drew the ire of many Britons.
All of these incidents added pressure on May to revoke her invitation to Trump. Instead, what had been an state visit was downgraded to a working visit, which means the Queen does not officially host the president and the first lady as she has done with previous U.S. presidents. But Trump will still meet with the Queen at Windsor Castle on Friday. During a state visit, foreign leaders are invited to address the British Parliament ー Trump will not be given that chance.
Prior to his flight from Brussels to London, Trump said: "I think they like me a lot in the UK."
Tens of thousands of protesters would disagree. Trump's visit has inspired Londoners to pull together a “Carnival of Resistance” that will feature massive crowds marching through the streets, a giant balloon of a baby Trump floating in the skies, and a group of people blaring trumpets to make a ["bad noise for bad times"](https://www.facebook.com/Trumpets-Against-Trump-1834111463526077/).
"Having a special relationship means that we expect the highest standards from each other," said Mayor Khan, who signed off on the baby balloon. "It also means speaking out when we think the values we hold dear are under threat."
After London, Trump will head to Finland on Monday to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin, a one-on-one private conversation that has raised concern among global allies and [congressional lawmakers](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-meeks-trump-is-putting-russia-first) back at home.
Concerns over inflation have become one of the biggest worries for executives. A survey from The Conference Board shows that more than 900 CEOs consider inflation a top tier concern, a major shift from last year's survey that had it as a low-level concern. Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President, Human Capital, The Conference Board joined Cheddar's Opening Bell for more.
Jordan Zakarin, Media Producer at A More Perfect Union, joined Cheddar News to break down the latest from Colorado, where at least 8,700 Kroger employees walked off the job in demand of increased benefits and wages.
With the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing rapidly approaching, clouds of controversy continue to swirl around China's treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority population, its surveillance state, and security for visiting athletes. Phelim Kine, China correspondent for Politico, joined Cheddar to break down the big storylines surrounding the Beijing Games and highlight what he saw as the complete disregard by top corporate sponsors like P&G, Airbnb, Intel, Visa, and Coca-Cola, for the controversies. "They spend $100 million for every Olympics that they sponsor, and they have frankly shown absolute willful indifference to any type of entreaty to essentially be more vocal about their concerns about human rights in China," he said. Kine also touched on the data privacy fears for athletes as visiting contingents are being told to carry burner phones to avoid security risks.
Texas's six-week abortion ban remains in effect after a federal appeals court ruling on Monday. The U.S. court of appeals for the fifth circuit temporarily transferred the case to the Texas Supreme Court, which is expected to leave the dispute in limbo for months to come. Katie Barlow, attorney and media editor of SCOTUSblog, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Hugh Odom, founder and president of Vertical Consultants, shared his expertise on telecommunications with Cheddar on the safety issue raised about 5G deployment by airlines. The installation was partially delayed again on Tuesday as the airlines warned of potentially catastrophic delays in a letter to the Biden administration. Later, both Verizon and AT&T relented and put a pause on some of the implementations. "The first thing the Biden administration needs to do is get everybody in the room and say, look, aviation industry, identify the problem — wireless industry, come up with a solution," said Odom.
Dave Levinthal, deputy Washington Bureau chief at Insider, joins Cheddar News to discuss Gallup's new survey that reveals more Americans leaned Republican by the end of 2021.
Women's March ATX rally, Saturday, Oct., 2, 2021, at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. An expected decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming year to severely restrict abortion rights or overturn Roe v. Wade entirely is setting off a renewed round of abortion battles in state legislatures. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman, File)
Inflation in the U.S. is only getting hotter. The 12-month inflation rate for December 2021 was the highest in nearly 40 years - continuing the trend seen at the close of 2021.
The Consumer Price Index increased 7% in the 12-month period ending in December, marking the fastest increase since 1982. Scott Wren, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, joined Cheddar's Movers for more.
If President Biden runs for re-election in 2024, he may not have anyone to debate. The Republican National Committee sent a letter to the commission on presidential debates, saying the RNC will require candidates to pledge not to participate in those general election debates. Paris Dennard, RNC national spokesperson, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
