President Donald Trump indicated in a recent interview with The Telegraph that he is weighing the possibility of pulling the United States out of NATO, continuing his criticism of allied support during the ongoing conflict with Iran.
When asked by the outlet whether he might rethink U.S. participation in the alliance after the war, Trump replied: “Oh yes, I would say (it’s) beyond reconsideration… I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and (Russian President Vladimir) Vladimir Putin knows that too, by the way.”
The remarks, published Wednesday, mark the latest in a string of criticisms Trump has directed at NATO allies for not “being there” for the United States. A day earlier, he urged nations facing jet fuel shortages due to the strait’s closure to “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.”
“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Trump’s stance has raised questions among NATO members, given the alliance’s foundation on collective defense. Article 5 — which holds that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all — has been invoked only once, in response to the September 11 attacks. In the years that followed, more than 1,100 non-U.S. service members lost their lives after joining American forces in Afghanistan.
Even with that history, Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on whether NATO allies would “be there” if the U.S. needed them. In January, he claimed without evidence that allied troops “stayed a little back” from front-line combat in Afghanistan. He has continued expressing skepticism about the alliance since the U.S. and Israel launched military operations against Iran on February 28.
“Beyond not being there, it was actually hard to believe. And I didn’t do a big sale. I just said, ‘Hey,’ you know, I didn’t insist too much. I just think it should be automatic,” Trump told The Telegraph.
“We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine,” he said. “Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we would always have been there for them. They weren’t there for us.”