Donald Trump has renewed his attack on Nato defence spending, accusing allies of taking advantage of American protection – a charge that comes as his administration faces scrutiny over a $14m-plus refurbishment project that appears to have backfired.
The US president said America was “bankrolling the protection of other countries without getting any benefit”, ahead of a Nato summit. But even as Trump presses allies to pay more, his own handling of a national monument has drawn criticism.
“Former Olympian indicted as Trump renews Nato defence spending attacks”
A former Olympian has been indicted on a felony charge of property destruction in connection with what Trump called vandalism of the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC. David Hearn, 67, a former Olympic canoe racer from Bethesda, Maryland, was charged with a single count of property destruction.
He told The Associated Press that he stopped by the pool during a 64-mile bike ride and reached into the water to examine a newly peeled coating. After briefly touching a chunk still attached to the side of the pool, he let go when a park worker told him to.
Hearn, who owned a company making composite materials for watercraft, was detained by National Guard troops and Park Police for five hours before being released.
Trump has claimed federal authorities made “multiple arrests” of people vandalising the pool, as he struggled to explain why the ambitious rehabilitation project for the nation’s 250th anniversary had seemingly gone wrong.