Trump Vows US Will Stay in NATO If European Partners Pay Their Share

(AP)

Former President Donald Trump said the United States will “100%” stay in NATO if he wins the White House in November — as long as European countries “play fair” and meet their financial obligations to the alliance.

In an interview with Nigel Farage on Tuesday night on British TV channel GB News, Trump asserted his commitment to the transatlantic alliance as long as European nations don’t “take advantage” of U.S. support, according to Politico.

The assurance comes as Western leaders worry Trump could formally withdraw the United States from NATO if he wins a second term as commander in chief, the outlet noted.

Trump has been critical of NATO for years, and said last month he’d “encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that didn’t meet their financial obligations to the alliance.

But Trump’s tone changed in the interview with Farage, the former leader of the U.K.’s Brexit Party — though the message remained the same: Europe must pay “its fair share” of defense costs, Politico reported.

“NATO has to treat the U.S. fairly, because if it’s not for the United States, NATO literally doesn’t even exist,” Trump declared.

Asked if the United States 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 said, according to Politico.

“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%,” Trump replied.

Politico reported that according to NATO, about two-thirds of its 32 member countries are spending on defense at the alliance’s target level of 2% or above of GDP.

In his first White House term, Trump criticized the nation’s transatlantic allies — Germany in particular — about increasing defense spending, and Europe continues to worry over the reliability of the decades-old U.S. commitment to European security, Politico reported.

The anxiety is now heightened by Trump’s presidential bid and the gridlock in Washington over an aid package to help Ukraine fend off a Russian invasion, the outlet noted.