It took Donald Trump a little over a month to start putting out the fire he started with his comments on NATO. The former American president assured, Tuesday March 19, that his recent threats against certain countries of the Atlantic Alliance were above all a “way of negotiating” with them.
The Republican billionaire, who will face Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 election, regularly criticizes his NATO allies for not sufficiently funding the institution. On February 10, during a meeting in South Carolina, he took a further step by threatening, in the event that he was re-elected, to no longer guarantee the protection of the Alliance countries against Russia if they- They did not pay their financial share to the organization.
During this meeting, he reported a conversation with one of the NATO heads of state, without naming him. “One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, ‘Well, sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?'” -he recounted, before revealing his answer: “No, I wouldn’t protect you. In fact I would encourage them to do whatever they want to you. You must pay your debts. »
His comments were strongly criticized by several European leaders and by the American president, Joe Biden, who denounced “distressing and dangerous” remarks.
“We have an ocean that separates us from certain problems”
“It’s a way of negotiating,” said Donald Trump on Tuesday during a tête-à-tête with Nigel Farage, a figure of the British far right. “The United States must pay its share, not everyone’s share,” said the ex-businessman, on GB News.
He also boasted of having replenished NATO coffers thanks to his remarks. “They started paying because of these comments you saw two or three weeks ago,” he said, without giving an example.
“Remember, this is more important to them than it is to us. We have an ocean that separates us from certain problems,” he underlined on Tuesday. “A big, beautiful ocean,” he added.
