Donald J Trump, the former president of the United States and the Republican 2024 presidential nominee
The Western military alliance’s Chief, Jens Stoltenberg, has said that Donald Trump’s claim that the US would not protect Nato allies who are unable to spend enough on defence “puts the US security in jeopardy”. Nato Chief
The Nato chief also said the plan by the former president, if executed, would endanger the lives of US and European troops.
Mr Trump said NATO members failing to pay their membership quotas are “delinquent” and that he “would not protect” them from Russia. Nato Chief
NATO members are in a mutual agreement to make certain percentages of their nations’ financial commitment to the defence and protection of any country in the alliance from attack.
Addressing crowds during a rally in South Carolina on Saturday, the former president said he had made his comments about Russia during a previous meeting of leaders of Nato countries, according to Fox.
Mr Trump gave an example of a country’s leader who had asked if the United States would protect his country barring efforts to pay his nation’s membership quota to NATO; and he had for this reason responded with the comments.
“I said: ‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’… ‘No I would not protect you, in fact I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You gotta pay.”
The Republican leader, Donald Trump, nominated for this year’s upcoming presidential election made no clarity of, when or where the meeting was held, which leader or country his narration was about.
Nato’s figures for 2023 spending, 19 of its 30 member nations are spending below the target of 2% of their annual GDP on defence – among them Germany, Norway and France, the source’s obtained data revealed.
However, most countries like Poland, even at over 3.9% annual GDP, which sits on the border of Ukraine, Russia, or its neighbour and ally Belarus, spends even more than the US. Romania, Hungary, Finland and the Baltic states of Latvia.
“I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election the US will remain a strong and committed Nato ally,” he added.
A White House official earlier said the former president’s comment was “appalling and unhinged” and that such would “encourage invasions of our American allies by warmongering regimes”.
He also said that the statement “endangers American national security and global stability” especially the US domestic economic performance.
Mr Trump has long been critical of Nato and what he sees as an excessive financial burden on the United States to guarantee the defence of 30 other nations
Dr Patrick Bury, a defence and security expert and former Nato analyst, in a media press conference with the BBC, said that Mr Trump was reflecting anger in the US that some European Nato countries were not spending 2% of their budget on the military, as Nato wants.
“Playing hardball with Nato allies is correct, but it all depends on how far you go. These comments are too far, really,” said Patrick.
The former NATO analyst also explained that statements such as this did have an ugly effect when Russia was using its resources to fund a war and equip its military, of which many European countries bore the brunt of that political situation.
“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 five. That’s where the Nato alliance is worried are these what-ifs,” he said. Nato Chief
Due to many related reasons Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and this was after the former president, Donald Trump, had lost his re-election to Joe Biden and left the white House.
Moreover, the idea of funding Ukraine, a non-Nato member, has not always sat well with Mr Trump seeing the amount of US dollars sent to Ukraine since the war. Nato Chief
The Republican 2024 presidential nominee said he had told allies he would “encourage” Russia to go on to attack any member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) failing to meet the alliance’s target of 2% of their GDP.
When was NATO Created?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is made up of a group of 30 supergiant Nations like the United States, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Canada, and many other Western European countries; and was created in 1949. Nato Chief
