(IntegrityPress.org) – Donald Trump, the likely Republican pick for presidential candidate, has promised to keep the US in NATO should he win the upcoming election on the proviso that the rest of the NATO partners pay their fair share towards defense. Speaking to British political figure and commentator Nigel Farage, who has been a long-time supporter of Trump, the former president dispelled the idea that the US would immediately leave NATO under his command.
During the interview with Farage, which was shown on conservative UK television network GB News, Trump explained that he expected other NATO members to “play fair” and not to expect the US to shoulder the responsibility for their countries’ defenses even as they fail to meet NATO targets for military spending. According to NATO sources, 18 of the 32 member countries are currently on course to spend the required 2% of GDP on defense, compared to last year which saw just 11 members reach their target. By comparison, the US spent nearly double the target level, putting 3.6% of its 2023 GDP into defense expenditure.
Trump has long taken issue with European countries spending below the agreed level while still expecting the US to come to their defense should they find themselves under attack. He sparked panic and fury amongst many in February when he told a campaign rally that he would encourage Moscow “to do whatever” it wanted to member states who did not spend the agreed 2%.
Trump used the interview with Farage, which aired Tuesday March 19, to reiterate his position and explained that as long as the rest of NATO spent according to target, the US would continue to remain in the alliance and to offer its support as an ally. He also took the opportunity to emphasize the both the US’s relative importance in the alliance as well as its position of relative safety, adding that the US was sheltered by a “nice, big, beautiful ocean” which adds to its natural defenses.
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