Trump threatens to let Russia attack NATO members that do not spend enough on defense?

The threat was made by Mr. Trump while campaigning in South Carolina on February 10.

CNN on February 11 quoted former US President Donald Trump threatening to encourage Russia to "do whatever they want" to NATO members who do not meet defense spending levels, in a surprising statement about not complying with the common defense clause if he is re-elected.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Conway, South Carolina, Mr. Trump stressed that all NATO members must pay for their common defense budget. "They asked me if they didn't pay, would I protect them? I said absolutely not. They couldn't believe that answer," he said.

According to him, "the president of a major country" once asked whether the US would defend his country if it was attacked by Russia, even if that country did not contribute to the budget.

“No, I won’t protect you. In fact, I’ll encourage them to do whatever they want. You have to pay your own way,” he said.

The White House later said Mr Trump's remarks were "appalling and baseless", while praising current President Joe Biden's efforts to strengthen the alliance.

"President Biden has restored alliances and made us stronger in the world , because he knows the first responsibility of every commander in chief is to keep the American people safe and uphold the values that unite us," according to White House spokesman Andrew Bates.

“Encouraging aggression against our closest allies is appalling and baseless, and endangers US national security, global stability, and our domestic economy ,” Bates said.

NATO is committed to collective defense, so an attack on one member country is considered an attack on all. Trump has long complained about how much other NATO countries spend on defense compared to the United States and has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from NATO.

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