President Donald Trump's speech to NATO allies this week was "a consistent message that we have given the NATO nations," Defense Secretary James Mattis said in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday.
"President [George W.] Bush wanted them to pay more for the common defense," Mattis told John Dickerson on "Face the Nation" in an interview. "They get the best defense in the world, the NATO countries.
"We've all got to be willing to deal with it like a bank. If you want to take something out of it you’ve got to put something into it."
Trump hectored NATO allies Thursday to pay their "fair share" to battle terrorism in a public shaming in Brussels, citing the Manchester attacks that killed 22 people and injured 64 others.
He said that 23 of the 28 member nations were "still not paying what they should be paying and what they’re supposed to be paying for their defense."
Mattis, 66, a retired Marine Corps general who served as a NATO officer under both President Bush and President Barack Obama, said that the Democratic commander-in-chief "sent the same message to NATO, that they had to pay their fair share.
"Finally, during President Obama’s time, all the nations made a commitment in Wales that they would do that," he added, referring to the 2014 Wales Summit.
"So, what President Trump is doing is consistent with both prior Republican and Democrat administrations," Mattis concluded. "The bottom line is that nations are spending more on defense now than they were five years ago or 10 years ago."
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