Trump wants to reconsider NATO membership: “Paper tiger”

TT

Updated 11.58 | Published 11.05

           

          Donald Trump with the NATO flag behind him. Picture from January. Photo: Evan Vucci /AP/TT

The US is considering leaving NATO. This is reported by the British The Daily Telegraph after speaking with President Donald Trump.

The newspaper asked Trump if he would reconsider membership in the defense alliance after the Iran war.

– Oh, I would say it is beyond reconsideration, the president replies.

– I have never been convinced about NATO. I knew all along that it is a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, for that matter.

“Not even a fleet”

The US has shown strong dissatisfaction with the reluctance of allied European countries to help militarily in the Iran conflict and in the conversation with the London newspaper is targeting Britain in particular.

– You don’t even have a navy, he says of the British.

– You’re too old, with aircraft carriers that haven’t worked.

When asked what British Prime Minister Keir Starmer should invest more in in defense, the answer is:

– He can do whatever he wants, it doesn’t matter. All Starmer wants are expensive windmills, says Trump, referring to Britain’s investments in wind power.

“Not our war”

Starmer’s answer didn’t take long.

– NATO is by far the most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, he says at a press conference, after a question about Trump’s statement.

– It has kept us safe for decades, and we are fully committed to it.

At the same time, the British leader says that Europe must cooperate more intensively. And repeats the line that Iran “is not our war, and we will not let ourselves be drawn into it”.

Rubio too

In addition to the Iran war, Trump also expressed disappointment with how the Ukraine war went.

– Ukraine was not our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we always should have been. They were not there for us.

Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed similar sentiments about NATO membership.

– I don't think there's any doubt, unfortunately, that when this conflict is over, we're going to have to reevaluate that relationship, Rubio told Fox News.