President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary James Mattis offered strikingly different perspectives on Russian President Vladimir Putin in the course of just a few hours on Friday. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Daily Mail: Trump told defense secretary Mattis to become Nato's rent collector, new Bob Woodward book claims
* Trump allegedly decided the US would stay in Nato during a last-minute meeting
* The President told Mattis at February 2017 meeting he would be 'rent collector'
* Legendary Watergate reporter Bob Woodward's new book contains the claims
* It also says Trump nearly declared war on North Korea in early 2018 with a tweet
Donald Trump decided early in his Presidency that the US would stay in Nato but defense secretary Jim Mattis would act as 'rent collector', according to the new book by legendary Watergate reporter Bob Woodward.
In an emergency meeting in February 2017 to discuss whether the US was 'in or out' of the organisation, Trump reportedly told Mattis: 'You can have your Nato'.
According to the book, entitled 'Fear: Trump in the White House', the last-minute meeting was called to settle the Nato policy ahead of a key speech by Mattis in Munich a week later.
The book claims Trump insisted on talking about the gossip of the day until dessert when former chief of staff Reince Priebus said: 'We've really got to deal with this Nato issue'.
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WNU Editor: Having an internal debate on issues is nothing new .... NATO ncluded. And as for the "collecting the rent" quote .... everyone knows that President Trump has been demanding a greater financial commitment from NATO members for its collective defense even before his Presidential election win. This is nothing new.