US President Donald Trump said Friday it was time to focus funds on the US rather than foreign spending, tweeting, “After having foolishly spent 7 trillion USD in the Middle East, it is time to start rebuilding our country!”
The tweet came a day after Trump suffered a defeat at the United Nations General Assembly, which easily passed a resolution condemning his administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Trump had warned before the vote that the US could punish recipients of foreign aid who voted against the US at the General Assembly. On Wednesday he said countries “take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us.
“Well, we’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us, we’ll save a lot. We don’t care.”
Media reported that a total of 128 countries voted in favor of the UN resolution Thursday, defying Trump’s threat, which was forcefully reiterated in an address before the vote by US envoy Nikki Haley. Nine countries voted against while 35 abstained and 21 were no-shows.
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