President Trump said he’s strongly considering pulling the US out of NATO after the alliance failed to get behind Washington’s operation in Iran as he branded the defense pact a “paper tiger.”
Trump went on to claim the transatlantic alliance was beyond “reconsideration,” adding: “I was never swayed by NATO,” the Telegraph reported Wednesday.
“I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”
President Trump said he’s strongly considering pulling the US out of Nato. REUTERS Trump claimed NATO “wasn’t there for the US” when Washington rallied behind its European allies in the face of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
“We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem,” he said.
“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.”
Trump’s skepticism of the alliance has been well documented, which dates back to before his 2016 election win.
He has previously described the alliance as “obsolete” and told the Washington Post in 2016 that NATO was costing the US a “fortune.”
Last week, Trump lashed out over the alliance’s apparent unwillingness to help with the conflict, and implied the US may no longer “be there” for its allies.
He blasted the Europeans for failing to step up.
“I’m so disappointed in NATO,” he said. “This was a test: you can help us — you don’t have to, but … if you don’t do that, we’re going to remember!” he said.
Trump has called on allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz – the waterway which sees 20% of the world’s oil supply pass through.
The president has taken particular aim at UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, describing him as “no Churchill.”
London refused to join the US and Israel’s offensive operations in Iran and initially blocked Washington from using UK bases amid concerns it would violate international law.
Starmer’s government, which says it “doesn’t believe in regime change from the skies,” then switched its position and allowed the US to use the bases for self-defensive purposes, “to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Despite Starmer’s U-turn, Trump said the UK “took far too long” in changing its stance.
