How Finland’s President Became Trump’s Go-To EU Ally | WSJ

– Never underestimate the
capacity of President Trump to negotiate a deal. And if he’s crossed, you
know, he’ll hit you back. – [Vera] I sat down with Finnish
president, Alexander Stubb, who’s become one of Trump’s
favorite European confidants. – He went to a good college
in the South, as you know, a very good college. And he was a good golfer,
we had a good time. – [Vera] Stubb has Trump’s ear when it comes to Europe’s
biggest security concerns. And he has been involved in diplomatic discussions ahead of the high-stakes meeting between Trump and Russian
president, Vladimir Putin. – We’re here up in the
northeastern corner of Europe. We kind of have the back of America when it comes to Russia. – [Vera] Finland joined NATO after Moscow’s full-scale
invasion of Ukraine, breaking decades of neutrality and more than doubling the
alliance’s border with Russia. – We have one of the largest
militaries in Europe. We don’t have it because
we’re worried about Stockholm. – Here’s how Stubb has
earned Trump’s trust to become an influential envoy between him and European allies. Mr. President, thank you
so much for joining us. First of all, it’s no secret that you and President Trump bonded playing some golf at Mar-a-Lago, and you’ve been in close
contact since then. Can you tell us a little bit about how that personal rapport has helped US and European
relations behind the scenes? – Well, I think diplomacy is
usually based on two pillars. One is state to state. So that’s about history,
culture, values and interests. And the other one is personal. People sometimes I think undervalue the personal connection. And now I was very fortunate to be able to play golf with the president. It’s quite rare that a
president from a small country gets to spend some seven hours in the presence of a
president of a big country. And we are allies, we’re friends, and we have conversations with Trump, about Trump with our European colleagues. So it’s been helpful. Golf was quite a useful
tool there, I have to admit. – So did you ever think golf would be such an important for your diplomatic skillset? – Well, no, but my dad did
tell me when I was young that even if you never
become professional, which I wanted to be, golf will be useful one day, and I think Dad was right on this one. – [Vera] Stubb said the two leaders discussed a range of topics at Mar-a-Lago, including NATO and
Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Finnish president has been
a staunch supporter of Kyiv, stressing that its security is fundamental to Europe’s future. – I want to thank President Stubb for standing with Ukraine, for supporting our people and for helping build a
connection with President Trump. – The Finnish experience with Russia is not dissimilar to that of Ukraine. After World War II or what we call the Winter War and the war of continuation, we retained independence, but we lost sovereignty to decide about our own future, and we lost territory. So I can only interpret
what happened to us and then juxtapose that or put a mirror and say a similar thing
is happening in Ukraine. – President Trump is truly
interested in ending the war, and we have to do everything we can to make sure the United States and Europe act together for security. – I can communicate what Europeans think or what Zelensky thinks to Trump, and then I can communicate what Trump thinks to
my European colleagues. And it is quite useful to say that we can perhaps expect
this coming from Zelensky, I can tell that to Trump, and then I can tell Zelensky that I think Trump might
say this in the future, but it changes from week to week. – You told President Trump not to trust President Putin. And it’s the same message that so many of European colleagues had said for years to him. Why do you think he’s only recently kind of changed his tone? – I think President Trump wants to get peace in Ukraine. And from the beginning, he wanted to do a deal
with President Putin. And I think he gave
President Putin a chance more than a fair chance. But we can see day in and day out Putin bombing innocent civilians. And I think this hits really
hard on President Trump. So it just takes a
little while to see that, “Okay, I can’t trust this
guy in negotiations.” – [Vera] Trump has toughened his rhetoric towards the Russian
president in recent weeks, as his administration works
towards securing a peace deal. – We get a lot of bullshit
thrown at us by Putin, if you wanna know the truth. – [Vera] And at the NATO Summit in June, he bashed Putin as the main reason why fighting still rages in Ukraine. – Vladimir Putin really
has to end that war. – He’s also shifted his
stance on the alliance after criticizing its member states for not spending enough
on their own defense. – It’s not a ripoff, and we’re here to help
them protect their country. – I think it’s a big shift. I hope it’s permanent. Why did it happen? For two reasons. One, the security situation
in Europe is different. So a lot of European countries understand that they have
to take more responsibility for their own defense. Second, because of Trump. If someone would’ve told me in NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit that the 2% ceiling will be
lifted to 5% next summer, I would’ve said, “Please,
go and see a doctor.” But sure enough, the pressure that came from Trump, combined with the security
political situation in Europe, became the reality of 3.5% plus 1.5%. And I think Trump not only
should be given credit, but he should take credit for it. – [Vera] Now, Trump is
leveraging his relationship with the Finnish
president to strike a deal to buy specialized ships
called icebreakers, as the global race to dominate
the Arctic intensifies. – I offered him about
1/3 of what he asked for, but we’re negotiating, we need icebreakers in the US, and if we can get some inexpensively, I’d like to do that. – [Vera] Finland has helped design or build around 80% of
the world’s icebreakers. The Nordic country
became an industry leader out of necessity, since much of its trade with the West goes through the Baltic Sea. The vessels are an essential tool in opening new trade routes and projecting military
power in the region. – Russia has over 40 of them, the US basically doesn’t. We can provide them very quickly. – I’m trying to make a good deal. It’s all I do, my whole life, my whole life, that’s
all I do is make deals. Yeah, please, go ahead.

Finland joined NATO after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, breaking decades of neutrality. Finnish President Alexander Stubb has become one of Trump’s favorite European confidantes and has even been involved in diplomatic discussions ahead of the high-stakes meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin.

WSJ’s Vera Bergengruen sat down with Stubb, to discuss his rapport with Trump, a bond over golf and how it’s driven Ukraine diplomacy.

Chapters:
0:00 Trump and Stubb
0:54 Golf diplomacy
2:05 Russia-Ukraine War
4:10 NATO defense spending
5:25 Icebreakers

#Finland #Trump #WSJ

41 Comments

  1. not to trash on Stubb. But as someone who has seen this guy around my whole life, he sure is a great talker. He is smart too, because of his education. Not gonna trash on that because it is factual. He has a lot of good things about him. But I still doubt if he gained the control and power like Urho Kekkonen had, I doubt he would be that good. But the power Finnish president has (after Kekkonen), he sure knows his role. He is the face and voice of Finland. That's for sure.

  2. I wonder how South Park is going to portray President Stubb eventually in the current season.

  3. At 64 and a vereran of Navy submarines and a staunch Reagan conservative. Trump both pleases me with his tearing apart leftist strongholds an drives me insane coddling Putin a true soviet psychopath KGB killer. Putin is no Gorbachev and Trump is no Reagan. Reagan caved on the INF treaty because Gorbetchev was the only decent Soviet ever. The rest are lying monsters like Democrats, Rinos and all Communnists.

  4. President Stubb speaks English more eloquently than any other American or British leader from this century 😂

  5. President Alexander Stubb understands the concerns of American taxpayers. He has lived and studied in the United States for a long time and has strong ties to the country. CNN, however, had not done its homework when they invited Alexander Stubb as a guest during the U.S. election battle between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. (CNN's idea was to have a European president tell the American audience how bad Trump is and how hostile he is toward Europe with his NATO demands.) The problem was that they chose the President of Finland (Stubb), who belongs to Finland's The National Coalition Party ("Kokoomus"), which is roughly equivalent to the Republican Party. Stubb surprised the CNN interviewer by stating that Trump is absolutely right and that he agrees with him. He reminded the audience that Finland already spends over 2% of its GDP on its armed forces, and he does not think it's fair that there are too many free riders in Europe. He also welcomed the proposed increase to 5% of GDP with enthusiasm. For some reason, CNN has not invited him back.

    If any Americans are reading this, you should know that some of your media outlets—like CNN—are trying to manipulate the public into thinking that the United States has no real friends. In reality, here in Europe, the loudest voices often come from those who don’t pull their weight or contribute their fair share. When I saw CNN try to lead Alexander Stubb into badmouthing Trump, I realized just how brazen these media organizations can be. Especially within the European Union, there is a similar struggle between net contributors and net recipients—the recipients complain, while we, the net contributors, are left to foot the bill.

  6. The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, is known for his strict fiscal policy during his time as Finland’s Minister of Finance. He has always been strongly pro-transatlantic and, for years, has called on certain European countries to show more backbone in managing their economies. It’s no surprise that he gets along with President Trump. Alexander Stubb speaks five languages and, prior to becoming president, served as a professor at the so-called "EU university" (the European University Institute). Before that, he held various ministerial roles in Finland—he is highly educated and experienced.

    He is an excellent intermediary between Europe and the United States, as he understands America’s interests—particularly the fact that the current burden-sharing arrangement is unfair. The U.S. ends up doing far more than Europe, even though Europe’s economy is massive too. The issue is not a lack of money, but a lack of political will.

  7. Lithuania and the rest of the Baltic States would be in a similar economic and political position as Finland today. However, the Finnish were able to fight off the russians and retain their independence. The Baltics fought for independence too but couldn't hold back the russians. So instead were occupied under russian communism for 50 years. Today they're free and have rebuilt, but they're still not as recognized on the global scale as Finland. They also underscore the importance of supporting Ukraine.

  8. 2:40 If Zelenskyy could just be like this great leader this war would have been done already. A plan was done…Zelenskyy stupidly blew it up in the White House giving Putin leverage. But, hopefully this time EU leaders can side line Zelenskyy so the Adults can make it happen. Zelenskyy is done once this war is over…he knows it and Russia is done once this war is over…both are on borrowed time. Trump can possibly give Russia a softer landing…but no matter what the hardliners in Ukraine will come for Zelenskyy once this is over…if he is smart he will listen to Trump who can protect him…but right now…it’s not looking good for him.

    No matter what America wins..if we get an economic deal from Russia out of it and we build Ukriane into an economic power house…that’s the ultimate win. China will be the next Collapse.

  9. Stubb is a spectacularly intelligent, cultured and educated man. I look forward to reading his memoirs one day and learning what he really thinks.

  10. you know people always complain about the elected president in whatever country they are in, but stubb, even if i dont agree with all of his views, is a great diplomat.

  11. Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President Ahtisaari was for years President Stubb's mentor. Ahtisaari's influence is clear.

  12. European leaders have come around on Trump because they see he's been right about a lot of things. They also see that he is a patriot and a good person and family man. The US will never abandon Europe.

  13. Been following Stubb’s career for the last decade. With the benefit of hindsight, we was on a track to become the Finnish President since he started politics. 😅

  14. God bless Finland!!! I love reading all the Coments left by others!……my coments are aways taken down/censored for being unexceptable ….God bless & God is always watching!!! …out

  15. Our former president Sauli Niinistö was often called the Putin whisperer.
    Now it feels like we’ve got the Trump whisperer in Alexander Stubb.

    Honestly, I always thought Sauli was one of the best presidents Finland has ever had. But Alexander is on a whole other level. I'm genuinely proud and grateful that we have such a strong, intelligent, and eloquent representative leading our country on the world stage. 🥹🇫🇮🕊

  16. The so called western world (eu+usa) never had such weak useless leaders as at present time
    Eu is a sad joke and the US an incompetent and evil one

  17. "He sees putin bombing innocent civilians and I think it hits really hard on Trump"
    Meanwhile Israhell murdered over 300.000 innocent children and women in Palestine and Trump's best friends with Satanyahu….. YEAH i don't think he gives AF about people.

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