'America First': Trump pushes Montenegro PM aside, rebukes NATO members

US President Donald Trump was walking with NATO leaders during his visit to the organisation’s headquarters on Thursday when he appeared to push aside Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic to get in front of the pack. During his visit at the brand-new NATO headquarters in Brussels, he also accused NATO allies of not spending enough on defence.

In a video currently circulating around social media, Trump can be seen putting his right hand on the right arm of Markovic, pushing himself ahead as NATO leaders walked inside the headquarters for a group picture. The US leader stood near Markovic and approached Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.

The clip of the incident quickly spread on social media in multiple languages. It also made headlines like, "Where do you think you are going?" and "America First,” while newspaper Vijesti said “it seems Donald Trump did not want anyone that overshadows his presence at the summit.”

But for Markovic, it “did not really register,” assuring it was a “harmless” situation. He even took the chance to thank the leader of the free world for his support for Montenegro's membership in the alliance.

The small former Yugoslav republic is set to become the 29th member of NATO in June. Markovic added that "it is natural that the President of the United States is in the front row.”

Fair share

During the unveiling of a 9/11 memorial, which marked the POTUS’ first NATO summit alongside the 27 other members of the military alliance, Trump delivered a rebuke to NATO and European leaders as he argued that the security alliance would be fight terrorism better if members paied their fair share for the common defence. Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, said that the US president has made the correct points.

The White House later announced that NATO members showed unanimous support for a resolution to share the burden of fighting terrorism. Every nation agreed to commit at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product to defence, The Washington Post reports. According to White House press secretary Sean Spicer, it was a very positive reaction and affirmation of Trump’s priorities.

Last year, there were five NATO members that paid 2 percent or more. These are the US, 3.61 percent; Greece, 2.38 percent; Britain, 2.21 percent; Estonia, 2.16 percent; and Poland, 2 percent.

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