Storm of indignation
Trump follows up: “I made NATO strong”
Following a storm of indignation over his comments about not protecting defaulting NATO allies in the event of re-election, former President Donald Trump has now defended himself. "I made NATO strong," Trump wrote on the online service Truth Social on Monday - and reiterated his controversial statements.
"When I told the 20 countries that had not paid their (...) share that they had to pay because otherwise they would not receive military protection from the USA, the money flowed in torrents," he said.
After so many years of the US "footing the bill", this was "a beautiful sight". "But now that I'm no longer around to say 'you have to pay', they're starting again," the former president continued.
Former president no friend of NATO
Trump, who has a good chance of running against President Joe Biden in the presidential election in November, had already accused European NATO partners of investing too little money in defense and being protected at the expense of the USA during his first term in office.
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At a rally in the US state of South Carolina on Saturday, Trump reported on an unspecified meeting with NATO partners: "One of the presidents of a major country stood up and said, 'Well, sir, if we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us?'" According to Trump, he replied that in this case he would not protect the country and would even encourage Russia to do "whatever they want" to him.
"Small gaps in Trump's memory"?
EU Commissioner Thierry Breton expressed the suspicion on French broadcaster LCI that Trump may have been referring to a conversation with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and was only talking about the president of a large country because of a "small memory problem".
According to the news portal "Politico", Breton had recently reported on this at a party event. During the conversation in 2020 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump is said to have said: "You have to understand that we will never come to help you and support you if Europe is attacked - and by the way: NATO is dead and we will leave NATO."
Uproar over Trump statement
Trump's withdrawal fantasy had provoked fierce international criticism. US President Joe Biden called Trump's words "appalling and dangerous". German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said that "any relativization of NATO's guarantee of assistance is irresponsible and dangerous".
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg reacted unusually sharply to Trump's comments at the weekend. "Any suggestion that the allies will not defend each other undermines our overall security, including that of the USA, and increases the risk to American and European soldiers," he warned.
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