Trump’s NATO Remarks ‘Undermine All of Our Security,’ Alliance Chief Says

Former President Donald Trump speaks at an event organized by Trumpettes USA at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 10, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

European leaders appeared flustered after former President Donald Trump suggested he may not uphold the United States’ commitments toward certain NATO nations if elected president, with the military alliance’s chief warning that such rhetoric puts the West’s security at risk.

“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk. I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election, the United States will remain a strong and committed NATO ally,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement on Feb. 11, according to The Guardian.

He affirmed that attacks on NATO would be met with a “united and forceful response” and that the coalition remains “ready and able to defend all allies.”

Mr. Stoltenberg’s statements came after President Trump suggested at a rally on Feb. 10 that members who don’t meet the group’s 2 percent defense spending target wouldn’t be protected by the United States in the event of a second Trump presidency.

“One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, ‘Well, sir, if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’ I said, ‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’ He said, ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.' No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills,” President Trump said at the rally.

According to a 2023 NATO report, only seven out of the 31 allies met the 2 percent GDP spending target on defense in 2022.

“NATO’s motto ‘one for all, all for one’ is a concrete commitment,” Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a Feb. 11 post on X (formerly Twitter), in response to President Trump’s comments. “Undermining the credibility of allied countries means weakening the entire North Atlantic Treaty Organization. No election campaign is an excuse for playing with the security of the alliance.”

At the core of the NATO alliance is the agreement that an attack on one member is an attack on all.

The NATO alliance “has underpinned the security and the prosperity of Americans, Canadians, and Europeans for 75 years,” European Council President Charles Michel pointed out in a social media post.

“Reckless statements on #NATO’s security and Art 5 solidarity serve only Putin’s interest,“ he added. ”They do not bring more security or peace to the world. On the contrary, they reemphasize the need for the #EU to urgently further develop its strategic autonomy and invest in its defense. And to keep our Alliance strong.”

Russia hasn’t responded to the statements.

GOP Response

Republicans are divided over President Trump’s NATO comments, with some criticizing his position.

“What bothers me about this is, don’t take the side of a thug who kills his opponents ... the last thing we ever want to do is side with Russia,” GOP presidential challenger Nikki Haley said in an interview with CBS. “What we always need to remember is that America needs to have friends.”

Speaking to Reuters, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he disagrees with the “way [Trump] said it.” On the other hand, Russia “didn’t invade anybody” during the Trump presidency, the senator noted. “And if he’s president again, they won’t.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called the former president’s NATO comments a “stupid thing to say,” according to Politico. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said the statements were “uncalled for.”

During an interview with CNN, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) dismissed the criticism, pointing out that “he’s not the first American president, in fact, virtually every American president at some point in some way has complained about other countries in NATO not doing enough.”

“You know, Trump’s just the first one to express it in these terms, but I have zero concern because he’s been president before, I know exactly what he has done and will do with the NATO alliance,“ Mr. Rubio said. ”But there has to be an alliance. It’s not America’s defense with a bunch of small junior partners.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) criticized NATO nations in an interview with The New York Times.

“NATO countries that don’t spend enough on defense, like Germany, are already encouraging Russian aggression and President Trump is simply ringing the warning bell,” he said.

“Strength, not weakness, deters aggression. Russia invaded Ukraine twice under Barack Obama and Joe Biden, but not under Donald Trump.”

Patrick Bury, a defense and security expert and former NATO analyst, told the BBC that President Trump’s comments only reflect the anger in the United States about European nations not spending their fair share on defense.

“Playing hardball with NATO allies is correct, but it all depends on how far you go. These comments are too far, really,” Mr. Bury said. He noted that such statements can affect the current global situation, in which Russia is on a war footing and its military spending far exceeds that of European nations.

“If Trump is in the White House and there was a split in NATO either over Ukraine ... or about how it would respond to a small incursion that should in theory trigger Article 5. That’s where the NATO alliance is worried are these what-ifs.”

A 2023 NATO report shows that the United States “accounted for 54 percent of the Allies’ combined GDP and 70 percent of combined defense expenditure.”

As of April 2023, the United States made up 16.19 percent of NATO’s budget and was the top joint contributor along with Germany, which accounted for the same share.