The typical politician, especially the long-serving, is slow to bring up a problem between allies, refrains from bringing it up very often, and is cautious in articulating it. Ultimatums, blunt demands, and criticism would likely be off the table unless an imminent threat were present. The traditional diplomat would likely never bring up problems unless the political leadership requires it, and even then there would be weeks and months of wrangling over the language of communiqués so that above all there would be no risk to the stability and comity of relations among the parties.

Not so for Trump. There’s a problem? Then go on and name it and be clear


https://thefederalist.com/2018/07/12...or-likely-get/

Trump is right, NATO deserves all the criticism it's getting. They need to shape up or we need to ship out.