By Athena Papakosta

The chances of Joe Biden and Donald Trump facing each other again in the presidential elections next November are high and the allies of the United States are preparing for difficult days. And this is because the new, pre-election statements of the former American president, Donald Trump, have been preceded, which set the West on fire.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, speaking at a campaign rally in South Carolina, said the United States will not protect NATO member states against the Russian threat if they do not meet their financial obligations under the Alliance. .

In fact, he went a step further and added that he would encourage Russia to do what it wants to member countries that neglect their obligations, stressing that he had transferred this position to the president of a “big country” at an earlier Summit of the North Atlantic Alliance when he had asks if “the United States would help this country.”

“I said to him: Have you not paid? Don’t follow the rules? No, I won’t protect you. In fact, I would encourage the Russians to do whatever they want. You must pay”.

“I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election, the United States will remain a strong and committed NATO ally,” the Secretary General of the Alliance emphasized, adding that “NATO remains ready and able to defend all Allies.”

After Mr. Stoltenberg’s comments, the position of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, followed, who emphasized that “Donald Trump’s admission that he intends to give Putin the green light for more war and violence, to continue his brutal attack against of a free Ukraine and to extend his aggression to the people of Poland and the Baltic States is shocking and dangerous.”

The reaction of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, was also intense, who said that “America’s first priority is the same”, while, for his part, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in a post on the X platform, underlined that “reckless statements about NATO security and Article 5 solidarity only serve Putin’s interest.”

The reaction of the White House was also harsh. His spokesman, Andrew Bates, emphasized that “encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and disproportionate and endangers American national security, global stability and our domestic economy.”

Donald Trump remains skeptical of organizations such as NATO and has made almost no secret of his campaign speeches about his displeasure with the billions Washington spends on the military alliance — whose support for the war in Ukraine has proven critical.

Not a few are worried about a second term for Donald Trump. Memories of his first… time as US president are still fresh with the country’s former president calling Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán a “great leader” and praising the president of Turkey and the president of Russia while mocking the former, now, Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel.

However, many note that even with a victory for the current US president, Joe Biden, the United States will need to focus first at home, as problems pile up and call for a solution with the electorate remaining divided and Congress in limbo. deadlock.