NATO Archives - Pensito

Framework But No Paperwork

January 24, 2026 Buck Banks

Donald Trump bumbled about WEF at Davos like a clown,
But he made a Greenland deal before leaving town.
He came away with a framework,
But alas, with no paperwork,
Because oddly, through a clerical error (?), nobody wrote anything down.

A U.S. Attack on Greenland Would End NATO

January 6, 2026 Buck Banks

“I believe one should take the American president seriously when he says that he wants Greenland. But I will also make it clear that if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War.”

— “Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that if Donald Trump were to attack the Danish island of Greenland that would mean the end of the NATO alliance,” Bloomberg reports.

No, NATO Does NOT

December 10, 2025 Buck Banks

“NATO calls me Daddy.”

— President Trump, quoted by Axios.

Biden Slams Trump Over NATO Comments

February 14, 2024 Buck Banks

“Can you imagine, a former president of the U.S. saying that? The whole world heard it. The worst thing is he means it. No other president in our history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator. … For God’s sake, it’s dumb, it’s shameful, it’s dangerous, it’s unAmerican.”

— President Biden, in a speech, slamming Donald Trump suggesting he would tell Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries.

Schiff Riffs on Trump’s NATO Nattering

February 13, 2024 Buck Banks

“Oh, Putin must be absolutely thrilled. If you look at it from Putin’s perspective, you know, the war isn’t going well in Ukraine for Russia. Russians keep coming back in body bags. NATO is enlarging around him with two new nations joining NATO. NATO is strengthening. And along comes Donald Trump there to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory for Russia and for the United States and our NATO allies.”

— Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), on MSNBC, on Donald Trump saying he’d encourage Russia to attack NATO allies.

Republicans Vote Against NATO Resolution

April 6, 2022 Buck Banks

63

“More than 60 Republicans voted against a resolution expressing support for NATO and calling on President Joe Biden to strengthen the organization’s commitment to defending democracy,” Insider reports.

Reagan Warns against Trumpism in 1988: Beware Demagogues Who Declare Trade War against Our Friends

July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 Jon Ponder

We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends — weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world — all while cynically waving the American flag.

Transcript via Snopes:

[…]

Russia Is Trying to ‘Flip’ Our Allies

July 9, 2018 Buck Banks

“Russia is trying to flip Turkey. They’re trying to flip many of our allies. They want to destabilize the strongest defense alliance in the history of the world.”

— U.S. ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison, in an interview on Fox News.

Trump Handed Merkel a Bill for NATO

March 26, 2017 Buck Banks

£300 billion

President Trump handed German chancellor Angela Merkel a bill — thought to be for more than £300bn — for money her country “owed” NATO for defending it when they met last week, the Times of London reports. The bill — handed over during private talks in Washington — was described as “outrageous” by one German minister. Said the minister: “The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations.”

— “Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that if Donald Trump were to attack the Danish island of Greenland that would mean the end of the NATO alliance,” Bloomberg reports.

“NATO calls me Daddy.”

— President Trump, quoted by Axios.

“Can you imagine, a former president of the U.S. saying that? The whole world heard it. The worst thing is he means it. No other president in our history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator. … For God’s sake, it’s dumb, it’s shameful, it’s dangerous, it’s unAmerican.”

— President Biden, in a speech, slamming Donald Trump suggesting he would tell Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries.

— Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), on MSNBC, on Donald Trump saying he’d encourage Russia to attack NATO allies.

63

“More than 60 Republicans voted against a resolution expressing support for NATO and calling on President Joe Biden to strengthen the organization’s commitment to defending democracy,” Insider reports.

We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends — weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world — all while cynically waving the American flag.

“Russia is trying to flip Turkey. They’re trying to flip many of our allies. They want to destabilize the strongest defense alliance in the history of the world.”

— U.S. ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison, in an interview on Fox News.

£300 billion

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“Whether you liked Ms. Harris or not, this last election was a choice, a very simple one. You had the choice between the Constitution and the criminal. And this country chose the criminal. You put a criminal at the top of America. A convicted felon.”

— Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (I), on a podcast.

“You can kiss the midterms goodbye.”

— Former Trump Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, on NewsNation, after President Trump shared a racist post of the Obamas.

“I did this to go on offense. And to put them in a position where they’re tap dancing. To put them in a position where they have to own their choices of using a U.S. attorney’s office to come after a senator.”

— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) is refusing to voluntarily comply with a Justice Department investigation into a video she organized urging U.S. military members to resist “illegal orders” — escalating a dispute that President Trump has publicly pushed, the AP reports.

Numerati

51.8%

Portion of young Miami residents who said in a recent survey they were likely to leave, with the area’s cost of living a key factor.

$1,000

“President Donald Trump’s tariffs cost the average American household $1,000 last year, according to new research from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation,” ABC News reports. “The cost is set to go even higher this year to $1,300 per household, assuming the existing tariffs stay in place.”

14%

“Less than 14% of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in President Trump’s first year back in the White House had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses,” CBS News reports.

37 points

Chasity Verret Martinez (D) won Saturday’s special election for Louisiana State House District 60, defeating Brad Daigle (R), 62% to 38%, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports. The Downballot reports it was “a massive 37-point overperformance compared to the 2024 presidential result.”

108,435

Employers laid off 108,435 people last month, the highest January number since 2009, according to a new report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. At the same time, hiring intentions haven’t been lower since then.