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U.S. President Donald Trump said spending by the United States on NATO is going to be under very serious examination, again voicing frustration over the alliance's failure to support the U.S. and Israel during the war on Iran. He also raised broader questions about the value of continued American membership in the bloc.
Speaking to reporters earlier at Joint Base Andrews, Trump said NATO had not stood with the United States when it was needed and suggested allies were only now seeking to respond because, in his view, there was no longer a real threat.
His remarks came after he had earlier said he was strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO following allied nations' refusal to support the American-Israeli war on Iran.
Trump told reporters that NATO was not there for the U.S. during the conflict.
"They weren't there for us," he said. "Now they want to come up, but there's no real threat anymore."
He again expressed disappointment with what he described as NATO's failure to back the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran.
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Trump also questioned the broader value of U.S. membership in the alliance.
He said the United States had spent trillions of dollars on NATO to help guard against Russia and said he had long viewed that as somewhat ridiculous.
"You know, we spent trillions of dollars on NATO to help them guard really against Russia, when you think of it, we're guarding against Russia. And I've long thought it was a little ridiculous, but we spend trillions of dollars doing it. And I think that's going to be under very serious examination," he said.
In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Trump said he was "strongly considering" pulling the U.S. out of NATO after allied nations refused to support the American-Israeli war on Iran.
He described the alliance as a "paper tiger."
Asked whether he would reconsider U.S. membership in NATO after the conflict, Trump said it was beyond reconsideration.
"Oh yes, I would say (it's) beyond reconsideration. I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way," he said.
The remarks were described as Trump's most direct threat yet to the 77-year-old transatlantic defense pact and came hours before he was scheduled to deliver a national address at 9 p.m. EST on Wednesday to provide an update on the war's progress.
Former U.S. National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent said that leaving NATO would not be about avoiding foreign entanglements but about siding with Israel in a possible future clash with Türkiye in Syria.
His remarks came as debate continued over Trump's threat to reconsider Washington's place in the alliance.
In a post on social media, Kent said the United States would be leaving NATO so it could side with Israel when Türkiye and Israel eventually clash in Syria.
"Unfortunately, leaving NATO won't be to avoid foreign entanglements, we'll be leaving NATO so we can side with Israel when Türkiye & Israel eventually clash in Syria," Kent wrote.
He added, "This is after we helped topple the secular Syrian government and installed a former AQ/ISIS leader as president. Time to stop playing arsonist and fireman in the Middle East, it's just not worth it." ISIS is another name for the terrorist group Daesh.
Trump's latest remarks added to pressure on NATO after he linked American support for the alliance to its reaction during the Iran war.
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