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Trump threatened NATO partners

Europe has one more reason to fear a possible re-election of former President Donald Trump (77).

Two days before Halloween, Trump spoke in the US state of Iowa, where the Republican party primaries for the presidential election on November 5, 2024, beginning in January.

Initially, he mixed up where he was performing and mainly gossiped about his successor and his internal party competitors. But ONE statement caused a stir in Washington and Brussels, the EU capital and NATO headquarters: Trump spoke of the possibility of abandoning Europe in the event of a Russian attack.

The threat had an effect.

Trump specifically boasted that during his time in office - i.e., before the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine - he threatened his NATO partners in a dispute over money. “I remember the head of a country standing up and saying: Does this mean that if Russia attacks my country, you won't be there? That’s right, that means I won’t protect you,” Trump said – to applause.

Background: Trump had regularly complained to NATO partners such as Germany that they were paying too little compared to the USA. Trump said only 8 out of 28 countries had fulfilled their obligations at the time. However, after his threat, “hundreds of billions” flowed into NATO coffers.

Doubts about loyalty to the alliance

What does the threatened breach of alliance mean for a possible second term in office? That America's assistance in an attack on Putin would be a matter of negotiation?

The statement was immediately picked up on social media by supporters of the Democrats and Joe Biden (80).

In their comments, Trump critics recalled speculations during his time in office: Does the Kremlin boss have something against Trump that is forcing him to behave strangely submissive towards Moscow? Does Donald Trump have ties to Putin and the Kremlin? His constant glorification of Putin looks un-American.

Trump preferred to take on traditional US allies rather than Putin. During the 2017 election campaign, in an interview when he took office, he described the transatlantic alliance as outdated and “obsolete.” He later corrected his statement but left no doubt: there was little room for Europe's concerns in his “America first” policy. Especially not for Germany: Trump wanted to withdraw 12,000 US troops from there towards the end of his term in office.

NATO membership only in “standby mode”?

US media repeatedly report that Trump's relationship with NATO has been permanently disrupted. According to Rolling Stone magazine, veteran US officials had difficulty preventing the US from leaving the alliance under Trump.

Should Trump move into the White House again, he would at least want to reduce the membership to a “standby mode” if his new demands are not met. Among them a “reassessment” of the fundamental principle that any attack on one member is equivalent to an attack on all. It is the life insurance for small countries like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Two sources also told the magazine that Trump did not want to tolerate any “NATO lovers” in his new administration. This remark was made when the war in Ukraine was explicitly discussed.

Currently, the heads of the Atlantic Bridge react with concern. “If he said that, he would be saying what everyone in Europe fears: that the USA, with Donald Trump in the White House, could threaten global stability. Or – as the conservative US journalist Robert Kagen put it: ‘to a villainous superpower.’”

“We Europeans should, therefore, do everything we can to support Joe Biden,”. For example, “also by supporting and noticeably relieving the burden on the USA in its commitment to Ukraine and Israel. He must show his voters that an alliance with Europe is also worthwhile for the USA.”