Europe would be speaking German without the US, the victors in World War II, said US President Donald Trump, reported Agence France-Presse. He made this statement to US soldiers at the Al Udeid base in Qatar, BTA reports.
“We love France, don't we? But I think we did a little more to win World War II than France did”, Trump said. In this way, he hinted that the US is not sufficiently celebrating its key role in World War II, while France celebrates and other European countries celebrate Victory Day in this conflict on May 8, and Russia celebrates on May 9. Trump reiterated his desire for the United States to have a holiday dedicated to the victory over Nazi Germany.
"I don't want to sound like some pretentious guy, but when Hitler gave his speech at the Eiffel Tower, I wouldn't call it ideal", Trump said, drawing laughter from the military. He was referring to the Nazi invasion of France in 1940.
And on the occasion of the May 8 celebrations, Trump said: “I called Macron. He's a good guy, by the way“. And then he began to imitate Macron's voice, who during that call told him: “Donald, we are celebrating our victory over the Germans right now“. Trump then said: "That's great," and then added: "We won the war, they helped us, but without us, they wouldn't have won the war," referring to all the European countries celebrating victory in World War II on May 8 and 9, 1945.
"Without us, they would be speaking German, maybe a little Japanese too. We won the war, and we're the only ones not celebrating," Trump said.
In early May, he made a similar statement, downplaying the role of European countries, and especially the USSR, in defeating Nazi Germany.
The United States played a key role in the war, providing aid to the Allies before entering the conflict directly after being attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The emblematic moment in their intervention in Europe was the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944.
According to the US National World War II Museum, the US lost 416,800 soldiers during this global conflict, which is slightly more than the British (383,600 people), but much less than the USSR, whose losses are estimated at between 8.8 million and 10.7 million military personnel, notes Agence France-Presse.