As of: February 16, 2024, 5:07 a.m
By: Felix Busjaeger
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Trump's statement about NATO continues to provoke strong reactions.
Now the ex-president is defending himself - while Vice Chancellor Habeck shows incomprehension.
Update from February 14th, 9:56 p.m.:
After US President Biden sharply criticized his rival Trump for his NATO statements, the ex-president now shot back on his Truth Social platform.
“Can someone please tell our uninformed president that NATO needs to pay its bills!
“They are currently paying a fraction of what we are paying for the disaster in Ukraine, which if we had a real president would never have happened,” Trump wrote.
“There’s probably a $150 billion difference.
They should catch up with the US – FAST!
The European nations collectively have about the same economic size as ours.
You have the money.
PAID!” he added.
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) described the statements as “irresponsible”.
Ukraine needs the support of Europe and the USA, said Habeck at a talk by the
editorial network Germany (RND)
.
A victory for Putin in the Ukraine war would be a signal to all people who believe that they can achieve political goals through military means.
“Then we have wars everywhere.
That can’t be the world we’re striving for,” said Habeck.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Conway, South Carolina on February 10.
© Julia Nikhinson/AFP
Trump advisor suggests staggered NATO memberships
Update from February 14th, 6:28 p.m.:
A security advisor to Donald Trump also commented on the discussion about NATO defense spending.
His suggestion: staggered memberships.
Anyone who does not invest two percent of their economic output (GDP) in their military as agreed should lose alliance protection under Article 5 of the NATO treaty, Keith Kellog told the
Reuters
news agency .
Kellogg said he would himself propose a NATO meeting for June 2025 if Trump wins the election.
The former lieutenant general and former chief of staff of the National Security Council did not mention whether he had discussed his ideas with Trump.
There was also no initial statement from Trump's campaign team.
NATO members have massively increased defense spending
Update from February 14th, 1:51 p.m.:
After Donald Trump's statements about NATO, it now appears that the members of the defense alliance have massively increased their spending on defense.
The spending of the European allies and Canada will have been increased by eleven percent in 2023, said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday in Brussels.
This is unprecedented.
Stoltenberg added that he assumes that a total of 18 of the 31 allies will achieve NATO's goal of spending two percent of their gross domestic product on defense this year.
That is six times as many as in 2014.
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According to the German Press Agency,
Germany has also
reported planned defense spending of two percent of gross domestic product for the first time in three decades.
Donald Trump with statement about NATO: Defaulting partners should not be protected from Russia
First report from February 13th, 11:29 a.m.:
Washington - The outrage over Donald Trump's statement about NATO not wanting to protect defaulting partners from Russia and Vladimir Putin in an emergency continues to be great among the allies.
While those responsible in Europe react with great incomprehension, resistance against the former US president is also stirring in the USA.
After the White House, Ben Hodges, the former commander of the US Army in Europe, also commented on Trump's NATO statements and delivered a scathing verdict.
The consequences are “very, very, dangerous”: Donald Trump’s statement about NATO is causing discussion
Donald Trump's comments about NATO are "strategically ignorant" and risk "messing up" the United States' own security interests, the retired soldier told the British
Times.
At the same time, he warned of a possible danger: in the midst of the Ukraine war, Trump's NATO statement would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries.
The consequences are “very, very, dangerous” for America and the rest of NATO.
In summary, ex-commander Donald Trump attested to strategic illiteracy.
“We rely on access in Europe, with bases in almost every country in Europe and around the Mediterranean,” Hodges said.
“These bases are important for us and for our contribution to NATO.
They are not here to protect the Germans, they are for us and also for what we are doing in Africa and the Middle East.”
Trump's statement about NATO rhetorical bluster?
Olaf Scholz with words of warning
Some observers consider Trump's NATO statements to be rhetorical bluster aimed at increasing European defense budgets and reducing pressure on the United States.
However, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees a greater danger and warns against gambling with Europe's security.
“NATO’s promise of protection applies without restriction.
All for one.
One for all,” said the SPD politician on Monday in Berlin at a meeting with Poland’s new, pro-European head of government, Donald Tusk.
The former US President himself apparently does not see that Donald Trump's statements about NATO could pose a potential threat to the security of the alliance partners.
After his campaign appearance for the 2024 US election, he instead claimed to have strengthened the defense alliance.
“I made NATO strong,” the Republican wrote in a post on his social network Truth Social.
Statement by Donald Trump at US election event: Republicans ready to drop NATO
It is currently uncertain whether Donald Trump would actually turn his back on NATO partners if he were re-elected in the US elections this year.
According to Hodges, however, the danger is great.
The former US commander further told the
Times
that he believes Trump is "absolutely ready" to turn his back on Europe when he returns to the White House.
“This has nothing to do with whether Germany meets its 2 percent target or whether Norway or Canada does,” he said.
“Trump hates alliances.
He hates an obligation that requires him to fulfill something.”
Donald Trump is a “mafia type” who doesn’t want to be restricted in his options.
During his last term as US President, he showed that he was completely unconcerned with moral obligations.
“We would be fools not to take what he says at face value.” The concerns and uncertainty in the transatlantic community could therefore be justified.
President Joe Biden recently called Trump's recent criticism of the alliance "appalling and dangerous."
NATO's 2 percent target: Only a few countries meet Trump's claim
During his time as US President, Donald Trump repeatedly accused NATO allies of relying too much on the protection of the United States.
He therefore regularly called on the countries to expand their own armed forces.
To this end, two percent of GDP should be used for defense spending.
As
Newsweek
breaks down in an article, so far Poland (3.9 percent), the USA (3.49 percent), Greece (3.01 percent), Estonia (2.73 percent), Lithuania (2.54 percent), Finland (2.45 percent), Romania (2.44 percent), Hungary (2.43 percent), Latvia (2.27 percent), the United Kingdom (2.07 percent) and Slovakia (2.03 percent) achieved its target of spending two percent of its GDP on the armed forces.
Based on data from July 2024, France, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Albania, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Italy, Canada, Slovenia, Turkey, Spain and Belgium missed the target.
Luxembourg invested 0.72 percent of GDP in its own defense capability.
However, the country also has special requirements due to its size.
Since Iceland does not have its own military, it is not included in the figures.
Trump threatens to say NATO: Germany invests 2 percent of GDP
As the
Tagesschau
writes, Trump placed his threat to NATO in the subjunctive, but the alliance partners would nevertheless react with great caution.
It goes on to say that his latest attack would hit the alliance at its core.
The former US president did not address who the actual target of Trump's NATO statement was in his statement.
However, the Republican could possibly have meant Germany in particular - even if this could be unfounded in the future.
According to
Tagesschau
, the federal government plans to spend at least 2.0 percent of gross domestic product on defense spending in 2024.
(fbu)