When it comes to global foes, most world leaders would probably not think to name the European Union, but President Donald Trump is not most world leaders.
Asked who he believed was his "biggest foe globally," Trump confidently name-dropped the European Union during an interview with CBS's Jeff Glor on "Face The Nation" Sunday.
"Well I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade," Trump said. "Now you wouldn't think of the European Union but they're a foe. Russia is foe in certain respects. China is a foe economically, certainly they are a foe."
He added, "But that doesn't mean they are bad. It doesn't mean anything. It means that they are competitive."
Glor pointed out that "a lot of people might be surprised" to hear the president list the E.U. before China or Russia.
"No I look at them all look, EU is very difficult," Trump replied. "I love those countries. I respect the leaders of those countries. But — in a trade sense, they've really taken advantage of us and many of those countries are in NATO and they weren't paying their bills and, you know, as an example a big problem with Germany. Because Germany made a pipeline deal with Russia. Where they're going to be paying Russia billions and billions of dollars a year for energy and I say that's not good, that's not fair."
He added, "You're supposed to be fighting for someone and then that someone gives billions of dollars to the one you're, you know, guarding against, I think it's ridiculous so I let that be known also this time. I'll tell you what, there's a lot of anger at the fact that Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars. There's a lot of anger. I also think it's a very bad thing for Germany. Because it's like — what are they waving a white flag?"
The comments come on the same day it was reported that Trump told Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May that she should sue the E.U. to speed up the Brexit process during his visit to the United Kingdom.
"He told me I should sue the E.U. — not go into negotiations. Sue them." May told the BBC in an interview that published Sunday. "Actually, no, we’re going into negotiations with them."
The comments also follow a contentious NATO summit that left many European allies in need of reassurance from the Pentagon.
Since his days on the campaign trail, Trump helped fuel the Brexit movement and continuously criticized NATO publicly. His tune has remained the same since he took office, and the president has frequently gotten into spats with leaders of countries that have been longstanding allies of the U.S.
Trump's comments about the E.U. left many pundits and lawmakers aghast, and many have continued to question why the president has offered little criticism of Russia.
On Monday, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold a summit in Helsinki, Finland.
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