“We are protecting Europe. And they didn’t even pay”
During the interview, reporter Eric Cortelessa reminded Donald Trump that he said he was willing to let Russia “do whatever the hell it wants” to NATO countries that don’t spend enough on their defense. And he asked him directly: “If Putin attacked a NATO country that you think has not spent enough on its defense, would the US come to the assistance of this country?”
“When I said that, I meant it, because I want him to pay. I want to pay. I said, look, if you’re not going to pay, then you’re on your own,” replied Trump, who went on to threaten NATO countries.
“We were spending almost 100% of the money in NATO. We are protecting Europe. And they weren’t even paying. Eight. Only eight countries were paying. The rest were delinquents. And I said, if you don’t pay, have fun, but we’re not going to protect you. I said it again a few weeks ago, two months ago, I said it again. And I said, if you don’t pay… I’m negotiating because I want him to pay. I want Europe to pay. I want nothing bad to happen to Europe, I love Europe, I love the people of Europe, I have a great relationship with Europe. But they took advantage of us, both in NATO and in Ukraine. We have billions of dollars more than they gave in Ukraine. It shouldn’t be like this. It should be the other way around. Because they are much more affected. We have an ocean between us (between Russia and the United States). They don’t,” Trump claims.
The reporter continued: “Do you want to maintain 80 years of American leadership in defending the West, especially Europe, or do you want to change the architecture of the postwar world that has kept us out of a world war for the past 80 years?”
In his response, Trump claims that if the United States were attacked, he doesn’t think NATO would defend them: “I want them to pay their bills. Very simple. NATO is fine. The problem I have with NATO is that I don’t think NATO would come to our defense if we had a problem. I do not believe this. I know them all (NATO countries, ed.). It’s a one-way street, even if they paid. I want to pay. But I think that if we were attacked, NATO would not be with us. Many of the NATO countries would not be with us”.
How real are Trump’s allegations?
Time magazine also published a verification of the claims of the former US president, in which it shows that NATO’s principle of collective defense stipulates that an attack on one NATO ally constitutes an attack on all NATO allies. As defined in Article 5 of the treaty, all members will take action to defend or assist the ally that has been attacked.
It is also noted that since its adoption in 1949, Article 5 has been invoked only once, immediately after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. The other 18 nations that were NATO members at the time launched a series of operations in response, including the deployment of air forces to provide air security over the US and naval counter-terrorism efforts. NATO members also participated in the ensuing ground war in Afghanistan.
Regarding Trump’s NATO spending claim that the US spends “almost 100% of their money in NATO,” he added: “We were protecting Europe and they weren’t even paying… Only eight countries were paying. The rest were delinquents,” Time magazine writes: “in 2006, NATO members agreed that each country would allocate 2% of its gross national product to defense spending.”
The agreement, a defense investment guide, ensures the Alliance’s collective military preparedness. It is not a bill, but rather a voluntary spending guide for each country’s military budget. In 2017, four countries met the target, according to NATO data. In 2020, there were nine.
In February this year, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that “18 allies are expected to spend 2% of GDP on defense in 2024, a six-fold increase from 2014, when only three allies met their target” .
Threat to Ukraine
Donald Trump was also asked whether, if elected president of the United States, he would continue to provide military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. “I will try to help Ukraine, but Europe also needs to get there and do its job. They are not doing their job. Europe is not paying its fair share,” was Trump’s response.
He was also reminded that Viktor Orban met with him in America and then the Hungarian Prime Minister said that Trump would not give money to Ukraine anymore: “No, I said that I will not give unless Europe starts to match the amounts. Europe must pay. We gave much more than the European nations. It is very unfair to us. And I said that if Europe won’t pay, they are much more affected than us… If Europe won’t pay, why should we?”
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