WASHINGTON, January 21. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has issued his first executive orders from the White House, focusing on domestic issues. He said that the security of the country would be the main focus of his foreign policy. At the same time, he spoke to reporters about foreign policy.
Trump will try to ensure that the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) increase their defense spending to 5% of their GDP. "NATO has to pay more money. NATO has to pay 5%," Trump told reporters.
The head of the Washington administration complained that the United States spent $200 bln more on military aid to Ukraine than other countries of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Trump once again stated that the conflict in Ukraine would not have started under his leadership, and assured that he intends to ensure its end.
The US President said he plans to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. "I’ll be meeting with President Putin," Trump said, without giving any specific dates. He suggested that he may be able to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin "very soon".
At the same time, Trump added that Vladimir Zelensky is ready to make a deal to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. "He told me he wants to make a deal," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House. The US president also expects Russian leader Vladimir Putin to be ready for a deal. "I've gotten along with him great and I would hope that he wants to make a deal," Trump said.
Donald Trump has signed an executive order on the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). The American leader cited data that during his presidency, the US contributions to the WHO, with a population of about 350 mln people, amounted to $500 mln annually, while China, with a population of over 1.4 bln, paid around $39 mln.
At the same time, Trump has once again signed a decree on the country's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. Trump has repeatedly expressed doubts about the scientific validity of the concept of global warming. In 2017, he withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. By November 2020, the country had completed the process of withdrawing from the agreement, but in January 2021, then-US President Joe Biden signed an executive order returning Washington to the Paris Agreement.
Donald Trump intends to impose a 25% tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico on February 1 and he has threatened European Union countries with trade tariffs unless they start buying more American oil and gas.
Trump also signed an executive order to create a government efficiency agency headed by billionaire loyalist Elon Musk.
The US President pardoned 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol in January 2021. "We hope they come out tonight, frankly," Trump said. "We're expecting it."
Trump also signed an executive order to halt a federal ban on TikTok.
Republican Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on January 20. He won the election on November 5, 2024, defeating Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris.