EU was formed 'to screw US', says Donald Trump at first cabinet meeting; tells Ukraine to 'forget about Nato'

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed that the European Union, despite long-standing support from Washington for its formation, was originally established to counter the United States.Speaking at his first Cabinet meeting, Trump said: "Look, let's be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States."Trump says no Nato for UkraineTrump also ruled out Nato membership to Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelensky prepared to visit to finalize a deal on natural resource transfers, dismissing Ukraine’s NATO aspirations in alignment with Russia’s stance."Nato -- you can forget about," Trump said when asked about a possible deal to end the war. "I think that's probably the reason the whole thing started."Trump futher stated that he hopes for an in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon, aiming to negotiate an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, which began with Moscow’s invasion in February 2022. While he declined to specify what concessions he would seek from both sides, Trump reaffirmed his administration’s stance that Ukraine's Nato membership aspirations are not viable. No US security guarantees to UkraineHe continued that European nations should be responsible for providing security assurances to Ukraine, whilst declining to pledge American commitments in exchange for access to Ukrainian natural resources."I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much," Trump said, adding that, "We're going to have Europe do that because... Europe is their next-door neighbor, but we're going to make sure everything goes well."'Zelenskyy to visit to White House on Friday'At the beginning of the meeting, Trump announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to visit the White House on Friday to sign a critical minerals deal. "It's a great deal for Ukraine, too, because they get us over there," Trump said. "We'll be on the land and, you know, in that way, it's this sort of automatic security, because nobody's going to be messing around with our people when we're there," he added.His administration had initially proposed that Ukraine allocate $500 billion in future revenue to the US as de facto reparations for the military and humanitarian aid it has received.Zelenskyy rejected that offer but has continued negotiations to reach a modified deal. “We’re saying, look… we want to get that money back,” Trump said on Tuesday, again overstating the total US aid sent to Ukraine, which stands at approximately $120 billion since the war began.'Thirst' for his 'gold card' visaTrump plans to propose a new “gold card” visa program, offering a potential pathway to U.S. citizenship for $5 million, as a replacement for the existing 35-year-old investor visa program. "I happen to think it’ll sell like crazy. It’s a market,” Trump said. “But we’ll know very soon. If we sell a million, that’s $5 trillion dollars," he added. Highlighting strong interest from the business community, he remarked, "I think we will sell a lot because I think there’s really a thirst." Trump also suggested that revenue from the program could be used to help pay off the national debt.