As President Donald Trump returned from the annual NATO summit having persuaded the majority of the members to commit 5% of their annual gross domestic product on core defense requirements, Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Wednesday that the U.S. “wants strong partners that are going to step up.”

“We want a Europe that doesn’t need the United States of America. Not so that we’re not there for each other, but so that we know you can be your own security guarantee. You can stand on your own.

“The outgoing Polish prime minister said it very well. He said, ‘We have a continent of 500 million people asking for a country of 300 million people to defend against a country of 150 million people. Where does the math add up in any of that?’ It doesn’t add up,” Mast said during an appearance on “Rob Schmitt Tonight.”

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