Trump warms up to Ukraine, gets angry with Iran: 5 takeaways from the NATO summit

President Trump and other leaders wrapped up the NATO alliance’s whirlwind summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday with a number of significant developments.

Trump gave Ukraine the go-ahead to produce Patriot interceptors amid its ongoing war with Russia, a move that will be celebrated by NATO members. 

At the same time, Trump lashed out at some NATO countries for not doing enough to meet defense spending goals. The president also made headlines when he ordered all trade with Spain to be cut off amid tensions over defense spending and the Iran war. 

Trump left the summit with lingering questions over whether the U.S. would provide F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, the summit’s host nation, amid pushback from Israel and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Washington. 

Here are five takeaways from this week’s NATO summit. 

Rhetoric toward Iran’s leaders turns hostile 

Iran launched strikes against at least three commercial vessels overnight on Tuesday shortly after the NATO summit kicked off in Turkey. The U.S. quickly retaliated, launching a series of what U.S. Central Command described as “powerful” strikes against Iran. 

Trump, noticeably angered by the developments, told reporters on Wednesday that the interim deal reached between the U.S. and Iran was “over” as far as he was concerned. 

“I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum,” the president said of Iran, adding it was a waste of time to deal with the country’s negotiators. 

Trump continued to hit Iran throughout the day on Wednesday, referring to them as “sick people.” 

The rhetoric marks a shift in tone from just weeks ago at the Group of Seven (G7) summit when Trump said he thought the Iranians were rational people and good to deal with. 

When asked why his tone had changed during a press conference on Wednesday, Trump responded: “I got to know them. That’s it.” 

He also said the current Iranian regime was an improvement on the previous regime. A number of Iran’s leaders were killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes during the war, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ukraine given green light to produce Patriot interceptors

Trump said he granted Ukraine the ability to co-produce Patriot missile interceptors, a vital air defense system as Russian continues to hammer Ukraine with ballistic missiles and drones. 

“Just a little birdie told me this, about the fact that we’ll give them the right to make Patriots, we’ll show them how to do it,” the........

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