Trump criticizes NATO as Biden pledges strategic aid to Ukraine
At the same time NATO leaders were attending the summit in Washington, Donald Trump once again spoke dismissively about the alliance.
Donald Trump's words were spoken during an election rally at the Doral golf club in Florida.
- Earlier, I didn't know what the hell NATO was, but it didn't take me very long, about two minutes. The first thing I figured out was that they weren't paying. We were paying almost fully for NATO - said Donald Trump to his voters.
Donald Trump's comments on NATO came on the first day of the alliance summit, which began on Tuesday in Washington. That same evening, President Joe Biden announced the transfer of five new strategic air defence systems to Ukraine, including four Patriot batteries and one SAMP/T.
In his speech, Joe Biden also assured that the Alliance enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support in America because Americans know that the Alliance makes America safe. He emphasized that without NATO, we would be dealing with "another war in Europe, with American soldiers fighting and dying in that war, dictators spreading chaos, economic collapse, and disaster".
Criticizes NATO again
The words spoken in Florida are another criticism of Donald Trump's attitude toward NATO. In February, the former President of the United States said he would encourage Russia to "do whatever it wants" to other NATO countries that do not fulfil their financial obligations to the Alliance.
During the election rally, he recounted a conversation with one of the heads of NATO countries. One of the leaders asked him if they should not spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence and if Russia attacked them, the U.S. President would come to their defence.
- No, I wouldn't defend you. I would basically encourage them to do whatever they want. You need to pay. You need to pay the bills - Trump said at the time.
