playing hardball

Trump boasts he’s playing hardball to force other Nato countries to meet their spending targets, which is 2% of their GDP - only 23 of the member nations have hit this target in 2024.

And while there is now a completely new government, all the signs are the Treasury will still be playing hardball.

That is why Stormont ministers are now playing hardball ahead of the negotiations.

"Playing hardball with Nato allies is correct, but it all depends on how far you go. These comments are too far, really," he said.

A key signal that the Republican leaders are standing firm and playing hardball came earlier this week when Sen. Lindsey Graham, the most hawkish of hawks, told reporters he would not go back to his home state of South Carolina and “try to explain why I helped Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel and did nothing to secure our own border,” adding, in uncharacteristic MAGA-speak, “I will help all of our allies, but we have got to help ourselves first.”