(Bloomberg) -- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that he and Donald Trump had a “productive” meeting on Tuesday and that he didn't feel threatened by the U.S. president he once said he feared would be “evil.”
“I want to confirm that the meeting we had was very productive, and not a moment did I feel threatened any time” Tsipras said through a translator at the White House, with Trump standing at his side. “I saw that there is a fertile outlook here in order to set aside any differences that we may have and find common ground."
A reporter asked Tsipras about his 2016 remark, in which he said of Trump's nomination for president: “The ideas it represents, the appeal it reaches and the threat to become even president -- I hope we will not face this evil.”
Trump smirked.“Wish I knew that before my speech,” he said before Tsipras responded.
“A number of countries were a little bit nervous at the beginning, and I have very good relations with the leaders of virtually every nation I've dealt with,” Trump said after Tsipras answered. “The reason they were concerned is because I will not allow our country, the United States of America, to be taken advantage of by countries all over the world.”
Trump opened the news conference by speaking about Greece's history as the cradle of democracy and other innovations and commending Tsipras for meeting NATO's target of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on Greece's military.
Greece has accomplished that target largely because its economy has contracted in its economic crisis.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net, Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, C. Thompson
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