File Photo: Lars Lokke Rasmussen, then Denmark's prime minister, speaks to media upon his arrival at the informal meeting of the 27 European Heads of States and Governments in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)
COPENHAGEN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Lars Lokke Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark until June 2019 has stepped into U.S. President Donald Trump's row with Denmark.
In a tweet Wednesday night, Trump continued his attacks on Denmark with criticism of the financial side of the Scandinavian country's contribution to NATO.
"For the record, Denmark is only at 1.35% of GDP for NATO spending. They are a wealthy country and should be at 2%. We protect Europe and yet, only 8 of the 28 NATO countries are at the 2% mark. The United States is at a much, much higher level than that...." tweeted the American president.
U.S. President Donald Trump criticizes Denmark for being short on NATO spending in a tweet on Wednesday.
In response, Rasmussen tweeted back: "And - as I told you at the NATO Summit in Bruxelles last year - we have had (proportionally) exactly the same numbers of casualties in Afghanistan as the US. We always stand firm and ready - so we will not accept that our defense willingness is only about percentages."
Donald Trump said Tuesday a scheduled meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been postponed after she stonewalled his unofficial bid to purchase Greenland.
In a stern response, Frederiksen called the idea "absurd," triggering a backlash from Trump.
