The White House issued its own response after the former president said he would encourage Russia to attack NATO allies who don’t pay their bills.
THE White Househe dismissed late yesterday as “horrible and unbalanced” the comments made by former US President Donald Trump for not protecting NATO allies against a possible Russian invasion.
Trump, who during a political rally yesterday in South Carolina appeared to recount a meeting with NATO leaders, said the president of a “major country,” which he did not name, asked him, “Well sir if we don’t pay, and we get attacked by Russia – will you protect us?’
“I said: ‘Didn’t you pay? Are you careless?’ He said, ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.’ No, I wouldn’t protect you. In fact I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You have to pay,” Trump said.
THE White House spokesman Andrew Bateswhen asked about Trump’s comments said that “Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unbalanced and endangers American national security, global stability and our domestic economy.”
The NATO treaty includes a provision guaranteeing the mutual defense of member states in the event that one of them is attacked.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in November’s presidential election, has been a fierce critic of NATO when he was president, repeatedly threatening to withdraw from the alliance. He has cut defense funding to NATO and has repeatedly complained that the US is paying more than its fair share.
Bates said President Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election in November, has restored US alliances since taking office in 2021, ensuring that NATO is now “bigger and more vibrant than it has ever been”. .
“Instead of calling for wars and promoting deranged chaos, President Biden will continue to strengthen American leadership and defend our national security interests — not oppose them,” he said in a statement issued late Saturday.
With Trump ahead of Biden in some polls, European allies worry that a Trump victory in November could jeopardize the U.S. commitment to the alliance, but NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last month he did not believe that a second Trump presidency would jeopardize US participation.
Source :Skai
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