The front-runner for the Republican nomination shows no signs of easing his hostile stance toward the military alliance.
The White House has condemned Donald Trump's comments suggesting the United States should not help NATO protect its allies from a possible Russian attack as “unhinged.”
The former US president, who appeared to be talking about a previous meeting with NATO leaders during his latest political rally in South Carolina on Saturday, said he had spoken with the president of “a big country” about the allies that were They rush to defend each other.
“Well, sir, if we don't pay and we are attacked by Russia, will you protect us?” he reported what the leader said.
“I said, 'Didn't you pay? Are you a criminal? He said, 'Yeah, let's say that happened.' No, I wouldn't protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You have to pay”.
“Encouraging the invasion of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged, and endangers American national security, global stability and our domestic economy,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates.
President Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election in November, has strengthened the alliance since taking office in 2021, ensuring that NATO is now “the largest and most vital it has ever been,” Bates added.
“Instead of calling for wars and promoting unhinged chaos, President Biden will continue to strengthen American leadership and defend our national security interests, not against them,” he said in a statement.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance of 29 European and two North American countries, has a provision in its charter that says it must defend any member that is attacked.
This is not the first time that the favorite for the Republican nomination in the next presidential election has criticized the alliance.
When he was president, Trump threatened to pull the United States out of NATO. He also suggested that he might cut the organization's funding from Washington and repeatedly complained that the United States pays more than it should.
With the war in Ukraine showing no signs of stopping, concerns have grown about the ramifications of a potential Trump victory in November.
kyiv is desperately seeking funding to boost its war effort. The European Union agreed earlier this month to dedicate an additional 50 billion euro ($54 billion) aid package to Ukraine; However, Biden's attempt to win approval of a US aid package is stalled amid internal political disputes.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last month that he did not believe a second Trump presidency would jeopardize US membership in the military bloc.
The official, who has been pressing member states to increase military spending, said European allies were increasing their military contributions and “moving in the right direction.”
Since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, U.S. aid to Ukraine has totaled about $75 billion, according to Stoltenberg, who said other NATO members and partner states combined have provided more than $100. billion dollars.
