A FORMER aide to Donald Trump has slammed European spending on defence as a “joke” if western leaders really believe Vladimir Putin will sweep across the continent.
Steve Bannon insists allies must spend billions of pounds extra to have any chance of stopping Russia’s military might.
Former US President Donald Trump with his ex-top aide Steve BannonAFP or licensors
Steve Bannon served as the White House’s chief strategist for the first seven months of Donald Trump’s administration
His comments came as he was grilled by The Sun’s Harry Cole on the Never Mind The Ballots show as part of our stateside special.
Political firebrand Bannon – who hosts the the “ultraMAGA” podcast WarRoom – was President Trump’s controversial chief strategist and senior counsellor following his 2016 election victory.
He dramatically left the post in 2017 but has remained a staunch supporter of Trump’s re-election and his “Make America Great Again” pledge.
Bannon said Trump’s current trial in New York could help him WIN the US election later this year and his ex-boss needs to attack his opponent Joe Biden – rather than the judge.
On our stateside special, Bannon also:
CLAIMED the Pro-Palestinian movement is the most anti-American ever
LET rip about Trump’s trials and “alien invaders”
CALLED Nigel Farage the next Prime Minister after Keir Starmer
ORDERED Trump to turn his guns on Biden – not the judge in his trial
He also predicts that Nigel Farage will be Prime Minister in the UK after Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer is swept away after a financial crisis.
And he says that pro-Palestinian demos have made colleges more threatening than the Darien Gap – a lawless area between Panama and Colombia.
But Bannon’s defence warning comes as western allies have been under huge pressure to aid Ukraine financially amid their on-going war with Russia.
Bannon said: “If the powers that be in Europe believe that Putin’s going to come across the north German plane into Poland, into Germany.
“If they believe he’s going to go to the Balkans, if they believe he’s going to Finland and Scandinavia then step up to the plate and start spending some money.”
The warning shot came ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreeing to spend 2.5 per cent of UK GDP on defence spending by 2030.
The move will mean an extra £75 billion will be spent in the next six years with an extra £23 billion alone in 2030 after pressure from senior Ministers and MPs.
But Bannon slammed the Europe’s own internal defences as “a disaster and a joke” with the money coming in stages.
He added: “None of your intelligence services actually believe that Putin’s going to go on offence here militarily.
“If it’s such a big deal why don’t you put the money – and this 50 billion Euro deal you talk about is not 50 billion, it was 12 billion year one, 12 billion year two and then an option for the other years.”
His comments come after a major aid package for Ukraine was approved this week by the US worth in the region of £90 billion.
The vast majority is earmarked for armaments for the country and fund logistics to get the weaponary across Europe.
The EU has pledged £42 billion to be spent up until 2027. It comes after the International Monetary Fund puts Ukraine’s funding gap at around £30 billion this year.
Bannon was dubbed Trump’s “puppet master” with a direct line to the President during his time as chief strategist.
But he dramatically left the post in 2017 amid rumours of a power struggle with Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
In 2019, Bannon was indicted on charges of money laundering, fraud and conspiracy.
He was accused of cheating donors of a “We Build the Wall” fundraiser – which aimed to establish a blockade along the US-Mexico border.
But Bannon’s federal crime was pardoned by President Trump in the final hours of his presidency in a sign their relationship had warmed.
Since then, Bannon has been a staunch supporter of Trump’s re-election, boldly declaring “MAGA could rule for 50 years” just weeks ago.