Trump Jr. says US will not be 'big idiot with the checkbook'

ISTANBUL

Donald John Trump Jr., US President Donald Trump’s eldest son, said on Sunday that the US will not be "the big idiot with the checkbook," for what is happening in the world.

"That's not going to work. That's not going to happen, and you saw what happened," Trump Jr. said at the 23th edition of the Doha Forum in Qatar.

The US public has no eagerness "to fund everything for everyone all over the world with no direct benefit to themselves," he added, stressing that Russia-Ukraine war is not a priority for the American people.

The US operations in the Caribbean against drug trafficking pose "far greater clear and present danger to the United States than anything going on in Ukraine and Russia," he argued.

Washington wants peace in Ukraine, Trump Jr said, urging Europe, however, to "step up" and take more responsibility.

Saying that his father, Trump, was "labeled as the guy" who would start World War III when he was elected, Trump Jr. said that instead the US president worked to stop wars in different parts of the world.

Praising Qatar's cooperation with the US during the Gaza peace talks, Trump Jr. said Doha had the goal of "actually getting to peace," rather than boosting its image.

While emphasizing that Washington's priority is to invest in the US, he said the administration will not abandon the competition with China over rare earth minerals.

Asked whether the US would be involved in the reconstruction of Gaza, Trump Jr. responded affirmatively, adding: "But no one in America wants to bear the entire responsibility."