This is John Batchel.

Conversation with John Bolton, former ambassador to the United Nations, of a column he writes

for the Wall Street Journal recommending to Elise Stefonic, the newly nominated U.S.

Ambassador to the United Nations to challenge how much money the U.S. puts up to maintain

the derision of the General Assembly and deriding the U.S. allies and in general

acting contrary to fair play and transparency. We paid a third of the overall budget of the

U.N. in 2022, $18 billion. Why? It has to do with the system that is set up at the UN General

Assembly to assess certain countries a percentage, whereas everyone else participates in

mostly a volunteer fashion. John has a recommendation. Volunteer only.

No assessment as if you're the tax collector.

He tells a wonderful anecdote, however,

about a conversation he had with a German diplomat,

about Germany also saying, no more assessed,

we're only going to contribute to the parts of the UN that work for us.

And the answer is witty.

Is John Bolton on his conversation with a senior German diplomat once about a much upon a time about how much the U.N. costs our allies and the United States compared to our

adversaries? More of this tonight.

Well, I think some do. I once asked a senior German

diplomat when I was in New York. Why don't you come along with this on this? You pay at that time

they were like the third or fourth largest contributor. Let Germany make up its own decision

how much it wants to pay. And this German diplomat said to me, no, no, that will never,

that will never work. We have to be told what to pay. Well, maybe that's how they feel about it in

...