LONDON — Donald Trump has said the U.S. will “100 percent” remain in NATO under his leadership so long as European countries “play fair.”
In an interview with his friend and ally Nigel Farage for British TV channel GB News, due to air Tuesday evening, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to the transatlantic alliance — but warned European nations not to “take advantage” of American support.
His comments may help settle the nerves of Western leaders worried Trump could formally withdraw America from NATO if he wins a second term as U.S. president later this year.
Trump has been highly critical of NATO for years, and allies’ fears were heightened after the former president — set to face incumbent President Joe Biden in an election on November 5 — said last month he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries which didn’t meet their financial obligations to the alliance.
But speaking to Farage — the former leader of the U.K.’s Brexit Party — Trump softened his rhetoric while maintaining that Europe must pay “its fair share” of defense costs.
“NATO has to treat the U.S. fairly, because if it’s not for the United States, NATO literally doesn’t even exist,” Trump said.
Asked directly if the U.S. under his presidency would come to the aid of NATO countries under attack, Trump said it would.
“Yeah. But you know, the United States should pay its fair share, not everybody else’s fair share,” Trump responded.
“We have an ocean in between some problems … we have a nice big, beautiful ocean,” Trump added. “[NATO] is more important for [European countries], they will take an advantage.”
“So if they start to play fair, America’s there?” Farage asked.
“Yes. 100 percent,” Trump said.
According to NATO, about two-thirds of its 32 member countries are now spending on defense at the alliance’s target level of 2 percent or above of GDP. Trump spent much of his first term in office berating transatlantic allies, Germany in particular, about increasing their defense spending.
There have been growing worries in Europe over the reliability of the decades-old U.S. commitment to European security, heightened by Trump’s second presidential bid and the partisan gridlock in Washington over an aid package to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion.
While president, Trump repeatedly threatened to leave the alliance, though never followed through.
This story has been updated.
