© Yves Herman / Reuters
At the press conference on Thursday, a Croatian reporter dared ask if Trump would change his mind once he leaves Brussels for London.
"We understand your message," the reporter asked. "But some people ask themselves, will you be tweeting differently when you board the Air Force One?"
"No, that's other people that do that. I don't. I'm very consistent. I'm a very stable genius," Trump said.
The phrase echoed a tweet from January, when Trump dismissed claims about his mental and physical health contained in a sensationalist tell-all book that now seems mostly forgotten.
It remains to be seen whether Trump really meant it about consistency, when it comes to soccer, however.
He interrupted the reporter's question to congratulate Croatia on their FIFA World Cup victory over England on Wednesday, which earned the Balkans country a spot in the finals for the first time in history.
President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic mounted a charm offensive at the summit, presenting Trump with a Croatian soccer jersey as well as giving him plenty of attention.
However, the US president's next destination is London, where he will meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May and other officials. It remains to be seen whether he will make any soccer-related comments.
Of the 29-member alliance, only the UK, Poland, Estonia and debt-ridden Greece met the benchmark in 2017. Croatia is one of the laggards, with 1.3 percent. The US was at 3.6 percent, pouring almost $700 billion into the Pentagon.
Reader Comments
He's exposing the contradictions, and thus the lies, whether that's his intention or not.
Trump could make much more headway towards dissolving NATO if he were to speak plainly and truthfully, instead of cloaking his opposition (if indeed he harbors any) to the treaty organization in statements about who is paying a fair share for it.