Fox News opinion commentator Jesse Watters on Friday suggested that ex-president Donald Trump was a more commanding presence among Nato leaders than President Joe Biden because Mr Trump once shoved the prime minister of Montenegro out of his way so he could have a better spot in a group photo.
Speaking on his nightly commentary show Jesse Watters Primetime, Watters said Mr Trump’s behaviour towards the leader of a smaller country was a more favourable example of how a US leader should behave at multilateral gatherings compared with Mr Biden.
Though Mr Biden received a warm reception at last week’s emergency Nato summit in Brussels, Watters described his performance as a “disaster” because he did not exhibit the domineering behaviour his predecessor was known for.
“He [Mr Biden] is wandering around Brussels with a big smile plastered on his face like he’s at Disney World — compare that with how Trump worked the room at the Nato summit in 2017,” he said.
Mr Trump was generally disdainful of Nato during his four years in office, often describing the alliance as something akin to a protection racket in which European countries paid the US for keeping soldiers in Europe or a country club to which Nato members owed “dues” which had to be paid before he would commit US troops to honour the US commitment to Nato’s mutual defence obligations.
But Watters said Mr Trump’s attitude was that of a leader and compared him unfavourably to Mr Biden.
“Remember, he [Mr Trump] pushed the president [sic] of Montenegro out of the way so he could be up front and centre on stage – leading? Everybody knew there he was in charge,” he said. “Not Joe Biden. He’s not acting like a leader. He’s acting like a senator and it is time for him to realize that he’s president”.
