As of: February 13, 2024, 12:17 p.m
Comments
Press
Split
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally Saturday at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC © Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
Trump claims he is violating the NATO treaty.
His comments are met with anger and concern.
Only the Republicans are silent.
Washington - There's a lot of fuss about one sentence: Donald Trump startled the world with his statement about NATO's obligation to provide assistance.
Once again, Republicans were forced to deal with controversial statements from the former president.
The possible candidate for the upcoming US presidential election said he would disregard the NATO treaty between the United States and its allies.
At a campaign rally Saturday evening in South Carolina, Trump claimed that he once told the leader of a NATO member that he would encourage Russia to "do whatever" with member countries that he said weren't spending enough on their own defense you want to".
Disregarding NATO's duty to provide assistance: Trump statement angers Europeans
His comments sparked anger among Democrats and concern among European leaders, including NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
He explained that “any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines our overall security, including that of the United States, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk.”
The German Chancellor also reacted with sharp words.
However, the statements were met with a mixture of reluctance, defensiveness and silence among Republicans.
As they voted Sunday on a funding package for Ukraine and Israel, some Republican senators told reporters they had not heard the president's comments.
Read The Washington Post for free for four weeks
Your quality ticket from washingtonpost.com: Get exclusive research and 200+ stories free for four weeks.
Trump's statement about NATO: Republicans don't want to hear anything
“I haven’t seen that, so I’ll have to listen to his quote first,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
When asked by a reporter whether he thought it was right for Trump to encourage Russia to attack a NATO country, Tuberville said he would not intervene in that discussion.
Some, like Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), sought to distance themselves from Trump's comments, but reminded reporters that it is not the first time Trump has complained that NATO members are not pulling their weight carry.
"He used a little embellishment that I wouldn't have used, but he's not wrong when he says that far too many members don't pay the minimum 21 percent for NATO," Tillis said, adding that it was a " “The mistake” of Trump’s staff is that they “even allow” the idea of Russia attacking a NATO member.
"Of course I don't think he should have said anything like that, but I don't think he really believes it either," he said.
My news
More natural disasters: How Germany is preparing for climate change read
Now Aiwanger is looking for the wind farm conversation: wind turbines are built “whether citizens want it or not” read
Tanks in urban warfare: Putin is threatened with a new catastrophe like in Groznylesen
Putin's troops in trouble: Swedish tank mixes up the Ukrainian front
Russia and SpaceX reject Starlink allegations – Ukrainian secret service remains steadfast
Fear of “complete collapse”: EU leaves Ukraine hanging on ammunition deliveries
Others dismissed Trump's comments as "politics" and said the president's words were being used to paint a negative picture.
“It's pretty clear to me that he's going to push them to pay, but I don't think he's going to back down,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
“He’s trying to send a message, I’m not worried at all.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) excused Trump's remarks to CNN on Sunday, saying they shouldn't be taken literally and arguing that the former president was simply telling a story "about how he used leverage to get people to get people to come forward and become more active in NATO.”
“Trump is not a member of the Council on Foreign Relations,” Rubio said on “State of the Union.”
“He doesn't talk like a traditional politician.” Most rejected the idea that Trump is actively trying to encourage Russian aggression.
Trump's comments about NATO were part of his usual campaign rant against the alliance's members for failing to meet a 2006 pledge to increase military spending to 2 percent of their country's GDP.
Donald Trump and NATO: The former president has been railing against defaulting payers since 2018
In 2018, Trump rocked a summit of NATO allies in Brussels with harsh comments in which he suggested that the United States would renege on its obligation to protect other alliance members from attack unless they paid more money.
At the time, Tillis reassured the United States' nervous allies by telling them that Congress fully supported the alliance.
"There is no applause line for 'Let's get out of NATO,'" he said at the time.
On Sunday, senators in the Senate reaffirmed their commitment to NATO and the commitment of $60 billion to Ukraine.
Ukraine is not a member of the treaty, but many NATO member countries have come together to help the European country repel the Russian invasion.
When asked what he thought about Republicans shrugging off Trump's comments, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) issued a stark warning.
“He will withdraw from NATO.
He will weaponize the entire Justice Department,” Murphy said.
“Everything he prevented in his first term, he will do in his second term.
Every single Republican knows this to their core.”
Key Republican politicians at the Capitol, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), did not comment on the issue.
As of Monday evening, Johnson had not yet made an official statement about Trump's comments.
Spokespeople for the Speaker did not respond to a request for comment on this matter.
Trump's statements: Few Republicans dare to criticize
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also did not respond to questions from reporters about Trump's comments on Sunday.
However, before the vote on the funding package for Ukraine and Israel, McConnell gave an impassioned speech in the Senate about the importance of the United States' commitments to its allies.
“I know that it has become fashionable in some circles to disregard the global interests we have as a world power, to bemoan the responsibilities of global leadership and to lament the engagement that is the longest drought of great power conflict in human history underpinned it,” McConnell said.
“This is idle work for idle spirits.
And it has no place in the United States Senate.”
Some Republicans were more direct in their criticism of Trump.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters it was inappropriate for Trump to suggest the United States "throw" NATO allies "to the Russian wolves."
As he left the Senate on Sunday, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told reporters the former president's comments had "dangerous implications."
"One of America's geopolitical advantages is that we have friends and the Russians and the Chinese don't," Romney said.
"Well, we'll lose friends if we go around saying we won't protect them as part of our obligations."
Liz Goodwin contributed to this report.
About the author
Mariana Alfaro
is a reporter for The Washington Post's political news team.
The native of El Salvador has been working for the post office since 2019.
Previously, Mariana interned at The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Insider, and The Texas Tribune.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on February 14, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.