US Defense Secretary: Europe should take responsibility for its own defense and not treat ‘Uncle Sam’ as a ‘stupid uncle’

On February 15th, US Defense Secretary Hercules stated at NATO headquarters in Brussels that Europe should take primary responsibility for the defense of the European continent. Heggese also quoted former US President Eisenhower’s complaint about insufficient defense spending in Europe, saying that Europe has turned the United States from “Uncle Sam” to “Uncle Stupid,” but “President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into Uncle Stupid.” US President Trump had previously demanded that NATO countries increase defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product. Several European politicians have stated that increasing military spending is “unacceptable”.