Trump says he may try to pull U.S. out of NATO since allies “weren’t there for us” in Iran war

President Trump has told Britain’s Telegraph newspaper he could attempt to terminate American membership in the NATO defense alliance that the U.S. helped create more than seven decades ago as a bulwark against the communist Soviet Union’s expansionist agenda in Europe.

Mr. Trump has railed against NATO allies for refusing to join the war against Iran, though he did not consult with them in advance or involve them in any planning for its economic and security fallout.

Asked by The Telegraph’s Washington correspondent if he would consider ending U.S. membership in the alliance after the Iran war, Mr. Trump said: “Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration. I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin knows that too, by the way.”

Mr. Trump has disparaged the alliance for years, but he is not legally empowered to make such a change on his own. 

By law, to actually pull the U.S. from the alliance or suspend U.S. membership, he would have to gain the “advice and consent of the Senate,” with a two-thirds majority vote required to approve the move, according to Congress.gov, the official federal government website for legislation information.

For NATO allies trying — with less and less help from Washington — to assist Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion, the latest rhetorical blow from Mr. Trump will be cause for yet more concern. 

For Russia’s Putin, however, it will be welcome news, as he has framed his invasion of neighboring Ukraine as a bid to stop NATO’s eastward expansion — and who has worked through various means for years to undermine the alliance and sew division amongst its members.

In his remarks to the Telegraph, Mr. Trump equated the Ukraine and Iran wars, saying he “didn’t insist too much” that NATO allies join the Iran conflict, as “I just think it should be automatic. … We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we would always have been there for them. They weren’t there for us.”

Asked about Mr. Trump’s remarks, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain is “fully committed to NATO” and called it “the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen.”