Former President Donald Trump is once again raising eyebrows with his latest comments about NATO, showing a fundamental misunderstanding of how the alliance operates—and completely ignoring the fact that NATO has only ever invoked its collective defense clause to help the United States.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump questioned whether NATO members would come to America’s aid in a crisis, saying, “If the United States was in trouble, and we called them, we said we got a problem … you think they’re going to come and protect us? They’re supposed to, but I’m not so sure.”
The irony? NATO’s mutual defense clause, known as Article 5, has only been triggered once in history—after the 9/11 attacks, when NATO forces rallied behind the U.S. in Afghanistan to fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban. But Trump’s comments suggest he either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about that fact.
Trump’s Misguided Take on NATO
Since his first term, Trump has treated NATO like a protection racket, insisting that member countries must “pay up” or risk losing U.S. support. “When I first came in, we were paying almost 100% of NATO,” he claimed—again, falsely.
The reality? In 2014, NATO countries agreed to increase their defense spending to at least 2% of their GDPs by 2024, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Today, 24 out of the 32 member nations have reached that goal, with some—especially those near Russia—spending even more.
However, even if a country falls short of the 2% mark, it doesn’t mean the U.S. pays more. It simply means that NATO’s collective military strength isn’t as high as it could be. But Trump continues to push the false narrative that America is somehow being swindled.
Would Trump Pull the U.S. Out of NATO?
According to John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, the former president had every intention of withdrawing the U.S. from NATO had he won reelection in 2020. In response, Congress passed a law in 2023 preventing any president from unilaterally leaving NATO without Senate approval. But some legal experts believe Trump could still find a way around it, citing executive authority over national security.
A U.S. withdrawal from NATO would be a dream come true for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long sought to expand Russia’s borders and weaken Western alliances. As Trump continues to push his misleading rhetoric, the question remains: is he simply misinformed, or is he playing right into Putin’s hands?
