Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to withdraw from NATO when he was president, complaining that the postwar alliance was a drain on U.S. resources. But at a campaign rally in South Carolina on Saturday, Trump went considerably further. He said he’d encourage Russia to attack NATO allies that he felt were “delinquent” in their contributions to the postwar alliance.
The comments were classic Trump: He demonstrated a misunderstanding of basic policy; he used the trappings of bravado to propose a reckless, destabilizing idea; and he contradicted his stated principles about war and peace.
Trump wasn’t just complaining about the idea of free-riding within NATO. He was floating the idea of destroying it altogether.
At a rally in South Carolina, Trump recounted an alleged conversation with the president of a “big country” and supposed NATO member.
“Well sir, if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia — will you protect us?” Trump quoted the president as allegedly asking him.
Trump continued: “I said: ‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’ He said: ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.’ No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay,” Trump said.
There are few issues to unpack here.
Trump’s use of “delinquent” is a reminder that he thinks of the U.S. as a landlord who collects money from other members of NATO, or as if the alliance is primarily a dues-paying organization. All NATO members do put some money toward shared funds, but the main issue at stake is how the countries spend money on their own defense budgets. Unlike the U.S., most NATO members fail to hit the alliance’s agreed-upon target of individually spending 2% of their gross domestic product on national defense. The idea behind the target is to incentivize a certain level of military readiness and strength across the alliance. But despite what Trump implies, when countries fail to hit that target — and…
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